


Fur And Photography

by MininSnow



Series: LIS Supernatural Creatures AU [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Canon-Typical Violence, Demons, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Mutual Pining, Vampires, Werewolves, oh my
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-01-15 16:16:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 42,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21256172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MininSnow/pseuds/MininSnow
Summary: After moving to Seattle, Max's parents take her camping to cheer her up only for everything to get worse.Max gets bit by a werewolf and her parents shut her away from the world afraid of what Max will do and what others will think. Cue the five years of ghosting Chloe.But now Max is back in Arcadia Bay attending Blackwell and hoping to get a second chance with Chloe. Which she gets while helping Chloe hunt down Rachel Amber, making deals with vampires, and being assigned pack leader to the wolves who live in Arcadia Bay.And honestly, Max couldn't have it any other way.





	1. A Wolf In Hipster's Clothing

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y'ALL!!!
> 
> So this is something I've been off and on working on for a while. It's mostly self indulgent cause I love me some werewolves but I thought y'all could enjoy the ride too.
> 
> This'll update whenever and isn't a project I'll be focusing on. Her Second Chance is my top priority, fic wise, right now. But I thought I'd post something special for my fav holiday!
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy and have a lovely, and safe, Halloween! :D <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jefferson asks for a favor.
> 
> Nathan still causes problems in the girl's bathroom.
> 
> Then Chloe walks in.

Photography class.

It normally held her attention but today had thrown everything off. Even if it was still hours before nightfall the beast within knew it was a full moon tonight. Knew it would get to run loose whether she wanted it to or not. This caused some of her more feral habits to show up. Most were easily explained as weird quirks and no one batted an eye. At least those who didn't put two and two together. Granted she hadn't run into a lot of out and proud supernaturals during her time at Blackwell. There were many attending Blackwell but none seem to try and broadcast this.

Like her teacher who sat on the desk before her.

His neatly combed black hair smelled of way too many chemicals that always caused her nose to twitch. The sunglasses he wore sat at the edge of his nose as he talked to the class. It made it difficult to tell if his eyes lingered too long on one student as he talked or not.

She couldn't help but wonder how full moons affected him. She only knew so much about vampires. Just the basics from what some of her friends in Seattle had told her and some things she had learned from him. So she was aware that full moons did more than just make a wolf go crazy. Maybe she'd have to ask. He had asked her questions about being a werewolf which didn't bother her as much as she thought it would have. It was nice to be able to talk about it all. She was so used to being secretive that she was rather hesitant to talk with him. But it was nice. Since she wasn't in Seattle anymore she couldn't attend group therapy. At least not there and she had grown rather attached to that group. The group made her feel like she wasn't crazy. Talking to other werewolves and supernaturals did wonders for her mental health.

However, she had known from day one Mark Jefferson was a vampire. He smelled strongly of graveyard dirt and rotting corpses. He did hide that smell well with chemical after chemical. Most other supernaturals wouldn't be able to tell he was one of them. And mortals were none the wiser. Perks of being a werewolf she supposed. Or the curse of being one.

He kept talking, turning his head every now and again as Victoria would raise her hand to answer a question and he would listen to her answer. He would tell her she was correct and move onward with the lecture. The beast within stirred as it caught the smell of the Queen Bee’s perfume. It wasn't a bad smell. A mix of coconut and sea air. Without really realizing her foot began to tap softly. It was basically the equivalent of a tail wag.

But that was broke when Mr. Jefferson stood, turning his back to the class. Just as he did a paper ball soared through the air and hit Kate who flitches, her shoulders scrunching up. That made the beast snarl inwardly as her eyes narrowed at Taylor who was giggling with Victoria. She had to fight off the urge to show Taylor who was boss. No one was to mess with her pack. Kate was one of the few she considered a close friend at Blackwell. It angered her and the beast how the Vortex Club treated her. If she didn't have the morals she did she would have torn their throats out weeks ago.

Then the bell rings.

“I suppose that's the end of today's lecture. Don't forget the deadline for the Everyday Heroes contest this Friday,” Mr. Jefferson then turned his attention to her before walking back to his desk as everyone else was filling out, “Also, could I have a word with you, Max?”

She cocked her head to the side at him, pausing her packing up of her things. Then she realized what she was doing and rubbed behind her neck to try and cover up the action, “Sure thing, Mr. Jefferson.”

Max caught his smile briefly as she returned to packing her satchel. Most everyone had left the classroom and despite the fact he had asked her to stay after, she would have taken her time anyways. It was the last class of the day. So she took her time to gently pack everything into her bag neatly, careful to not harm her camera as she placed it in her bag then slung it over her shoulder to dangle off the side.

Then she looks over the classroom. Kate was lingering, taking her time to sort through her things. Then Max caught sight of Victoria leaning over Mr. Jefferson’s desk and flashing him flirty smiles. Taylor lingered in the doorway as she waits for Victoria.

_ No wonder Kate doesn't want to leave yet. _

So Max strode over to Kate, “Hey, Kate.”

Kate looked up at that, she had been staring at a crumpled up piece of paper in her small hands. Her shoulders slumped as Max notices heavy bags under her eyes. The Vortex Club had been causing her so much grief lately. She had heard about a video of Kate going around. That was more likely what made Kate lose her normal light. Max had to take a moment to compose herself as to not let any unwanted shifts to take place.

“Hey, Max.”

“How you holding up?”

Kate was silent for a moment as she stared at the note then back up at Max, “I'm...getting by.”

Max gave a friendly smile, “I'm always here if you need to talk.”

“Thank you, Max. How have you been? Anymore late night jogs?” Kate gave a friendly smile right back. Max could tell it was a little more forced than her own.

While she hadn't told anyone in Arcadia Bay besides Mr. Jefferson and Principal Wells about being a werewolf, she had been pretty up front about how hard it was to sleep at night with her friends. Wolves were nocturnal by nature so that threw her sleep patterns all over the place when she was mostly active during the day. So every other night she took a run in the woods.

“I've been alright. But I can already tell I'll need a really long jog tonight to sleep like a normal person.”

Kate gave a genuine chuckle at that, “Well, I might be up if you need someone to talk to, too.”

Kate had always been such an angel. Even with everything that was going on in her life, she still made time to be so sweet, “Maybe we could do a midnight tea date.”

Kate smiles again, “That actually sounds really nice.”

“It's a date then?”

“Of course.”

Then a scraping sound makes Max whip her head toward Mr. Jefferson. She caught sight of how one hand was under the desk. Even with the sun glasses on and with the way his body was angled toward Victoria, Max could tell he was looking at her. He was trying to get her attention.

“Something wrong, Max?”

She looked back to Kate, “Thought I heard something. Lack of sleep has been messing with my attention span,” She gives a chuckle, “Anyways I should see what Mr. Jefferson wants. Looks like he might need saving.”

“I get that,” Then Kate looks toward Mr. Jefferson, “Okay. I'll talk to you later, Max.”

Max grins, “For sure.”

With that Kate returns to slowly packing her things up after balling up the note in her hands and tossing it to the floor. Max turns her attention to Mr. Jefferson.

Even while Victoria was mid sentence, Max speaks, “You wanted to speak to me, Mr. Jefferson?”

Victoria shoots Max a glare at that, “Can't you see we were in the middle of a conversation?”

Mr. Jefferson raises a hand at that, “Max is right. We can always talk tomorrow, Victoria.”

Victoria grumbles but stands upright and leaves them. Her and Taylor turn down the hallway. Max can catch the beginnings of a conversation about herself. Something about being the “selfie ho of Blackwell.”

_ Funny burn. _

Soon Kate follows suit, giving Max a soft smile that she returns. After that Mr. Jefferson strides over to the door and closes it. He removes his sunglasses and rubs his face briefly. She can now see his blood red eyes.

“Did you need something?” She asks as she sits upon a desk in front of his.

Mr. Jefferson then puts his sunglasses back on, “I'm sure you can tell what tonight is going to be.”

“Yeah. It's been messing with me all day.”

He chuckles at that as he sits behind his desk, “I could tell. You've been like a puppy who can't stay in one spot all class.”

Max crosses her arms at that as a growl bubbles from her throat, “Thanks for the remainder how hard it's been to keep the wolf at bay all day.”

He leans back in his chair as he looks at the closed blinds next to his desk. He always kept that window blocked by something. While he didn't burn up right away while being in direct sunlight like the movies, he had informed Max when she asked about it, sunlight would just ruin his concentration and make him itchy. Just like moonlight did to her.

“I apologize,” He says as he looks back to her, “I didn't mean to strike a nerve. I've been itchy all day because of it too.”

That piqued her curiosity, “So full moons affect vamps too?”

He raises an eyebrow, “I would never use the word ‘vamps,’ but yes. Not quite like werewolves but it excites us like it does you.”

She cocks her head to the side at that, “Is that why you wanted to talk?”

“Yes and no. You are seasoned with dealing with full moons. My fledgling has not yet experienced a full moon on his own. So I wish to ask a favor.”

_ Vamps and their favors. _

She had learned that favors were a huge deal to vampires. Being immortal and full of power they could have basically anything they wanted. Favors however were not something to take lightly like money and power were. They were also nothing to be compared to mortal favors. It was supposed to be a great honor to be offered a favor as payment from a vampire.

She swings her legs idly, “You want me to babysit your baby vamp?”

He snorts at that, “I do.”

She thinks about it for a moment. Having a vamp favor under her belt could be very useful. Especially when he was her teacher; not that she would waste a favor on grades. She knew better than to do that.

Max hops down from the desk and reaches her hand out to Mr. Jefferson, “Deal. I'll let you know when I want to cash that favor in.”

He stands and reaches over his desk to meet her hand as he grips it firmly and shakes, “Thank you. Where would you like him to meet you tonight?”

She ponders that as she lets his hand go, “The Topanga. From there we can go into the woods. Who am I going to be looking for?”

“Nathan Prescott.”

She gawks at that, “Really?”

“His father owes me much more than a favor for taking Nathan under my wing.”

She runs a hand through her hair. Nathan had been one of the main bullies that messed with her a long side Victoria.

_ This is going to be a crazy full moon. _

Mr. Jefferson than notices her hesitation, “Is there a problem?”

“He's never been the nicest to me. I would say best not tell him _ I'm _ going to be his full moon companion.”

He thinks about that, “This isn't going to be a problem is it?”

She shakes her head.

_ Not for a vamp favor. Plus I could probably kick Nathan’s ass. _

“No. It won't.”

Jerfferson smiles widely, his fangs showing as he does so, “Perfect. He'll meet you right after nightfall at the Topanga.”

With that she heads toward the door, “Sweet. Now if you'll excuse me I have homework to do.”

“Of course. Thank you, Max.”

She just flashes him a smile full of canines as she exits.

The hallway isn't as packed as it normally would be but it's packed enough to the point she wants out already. All the smells and sounds always drove her and the beast up the wall. So she puts headphones in and lets the beginnings of soft guitar strums drown out all the noise in the hallway as people linger at lockers.

_ I need a breather _.

With that thought in place she makes her way through the hallway and toward the girl's bathroom adjacent to the principal’s office. While heading back to the dorms would be ideal and all, a quiet moment to herself without having to deal with the other girls in her dorm was what she wanted. Maybe she could even risk shifting a little just to get it out of her system till tonight.

With that she pushes the bathroom door open. She inhales deeply and hums. It was just her.

_ Perfect. _

She removes her ear buds and pockets them as she then walks to stand over the sink. Her hands grip the sides as she stares herself down in the mirror. Her hair look a little more disheveled than usual but atleast her eyes weren't slitted. There had been many mornings she woke and stared at cat like slitted eyes and had to take a few moments to change her eyes back. That kind of fine tuning she wasn't very good at yet. There had been a few times where she had tried to turn her eyes or teeth back to normal and accidentally triggered a full shift. Luckily she always made sure to check in her room mirror before heading to the dorm showers.

She then opens her mouth and hooks a finger in her cheek to pull it back. Her teeth were sharp. All canines. But that she could deal with. She drops her hand to her side and gives a sigh as she stares down at the sink.

There was so much running through her head. She had a shit ton of homework to deal with. Then tonight she would have to babysit Nathan. She groans at that. But she considered that the least of her problems. She still hadn't even tried to contact Chloe despite having been in Arcadia Bay for over a month.

_ Damnit… _

Then she caught the glint of blue out of the corner of her eye. She turns her head and watches as a bright blue butterfly fluttered past to land somewhere beyond the stalls. She slowly made her way toward the end of the bathroom stalls. The little nook at the end contained a bunch of cleaning materials. A bucket sat close to the wall just under the fire alarm. The blue butterfly was perched upon the bucket. Its wings flutter lightly. It was beautiful. A gorgeous brilliant blue that looked so out of place among the drab colors of the bathroom.

She slowly took a knee and scrambled to get her polaroid camera out before the butterfly could decide to move. Then she lined up the shot.

_ Click. _

Just as the photo printed into her hand, the bathroom door slammed open. The smell of graveyard dirt and death filtered straight to her nose. It was much stronger than Mr. Jefferson's scent. As she put her camera away she turns to see Nathan Prescott storm into the bathroom. She quickly presses against the stall wall and pockets the photo she just took.

She peers around the corner as she hears him mumbling to himself, “You got this, bro. You're the man. You own the school. If you wanted to you could blow it up.”

She raises an eyebrow to herself as she watches him grip the sink and talk to himself in the mirror.

_ Why is he giving himself a pep talk in the girl's bathroom- _

Then the door opens again. The smell that follows makes Max’s heart jump into her throat. It was strange how she knew who it was right away despite never getting a whiff of it as a wolf. She didn't get turned till she moved to Seattle. But the sweet aroma of Chloe Price entered her nose. It was mixed with the smell of weed, oil, and cigarette smoke. And the blue head of short hair she could see didn't match the teen she left behind but smells never lied.

Then Nathan speaks, “What do you want?”

Chloe begins to check the stalls as she speaks over her shoulder at Nathan, ignoring what he asked, “I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say. Now, let's talk bidness.”

Nathan stays silent as he presses his back into the sink he had been leaning against. His eyes track Chloe as she pushes open the stalls one at a time.

“I got nothing for you.”

“Wrong. You got hella cash,” She says as she turns to face him now.

“That's my family, not me.” Nathan says with a frown.

“Oh, boohoo, poor little rich kid,” She says as she pouts to add to her sarcastic tone. Then she crosses her arms, “I know you’ve been pumpin' drugs 'n' shit to kids around here. I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now,” Chloe says as she waves her hands as if words were going to appear in the air after that gesture.

“Leave them out of this, bitch.” Nathan practicality hisses. Even with the contacts he wears, Max can catch the glint of a red flash.

Chloe then steps into his space, “Then I'll just tell everybody Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself.”

Nathan growls at that. In a flash he pulls something with a metal glint from behind his back. Chloe's eyes widen as Nathan now waves a gun about. So do Max’s.

_ He's going to hurt Chloe. _

“You don't know who the _ fuck _ I am or who you're messing around with!” He all but snarls, fangs bearing slightly, as he points the gun at her.

Chloe's eyes are wide as she puts her hands up and backs up. He follows holding the gun point blank at her.

She stares down at the firearm being pointed at her abdomen, “Where'd you get that? What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!”

“Don't _ ever _ tell me what to do. I'm so _ sick _ of people trying to control me!” After Nathan says that he pushes the gun into Chloe’s stomach making her stumble back into the wall.

“You are going to get in hella more trouble for this than drugs.” She breathes out.

Max can hear her heart rate increase and breathing become shallow. The smell of fear permeates the air. Max was sure Nathan could probably smell it.

That is proven when he begins to let loose his own mix of scents. Just by that she can tell that the idea of feeding on Chloe crosses his mind. And maybe even lingers as he gets closer.

Max tries her best to keep the beast down. But all she can focus on is,

_ Chloe is in danger. I need to do something. _

The idea of using force crosses her thoughts. Then she feels the way the beast bubbles within. She would more likely end up using force. So she sheds her jacket and satchel bag then her shoes and socks follow. She didn't really want to out herself as a wolf to Chloe. That would be a long awkward conversation but then again that was going to be had sooner or later.

Her eyes then scan the corner she hides in as she sets her things on the bathroom floor.

_ The fire alarm. _

“Nobody would even miss your punk ass, would they?” Nathan corners Chloe against the wall.

Max can tell by the tone that she was out of time. She needed to do something before he sank his fangs into Chloe. Plus the beast was done waiting. She could feel a shift coming on. She lunges for the fire alarm. Her fist shatters the glass and hits the alarm. She doesn't even feel the cuts she got from breaking through the glass as she launches out from the corner toward Nathan as the fire alarm blears throughout the small space.

“Get away from me, freak!” Chloe shouts as she knees Nathan in the gut. He stumbles having been thrown off by the fire alarm.

Max flies through the small space as her body begins to change. She can feel her form getting larger as she tears through her clothes. Her nose and mouth grow into a snout as she can feel her skin begin to harden and her body covers in thick black fur.

Nathan bares his fangs with a hiss at Chloe who’s eyes widen but Max is pretty sure that is because of her not Nathan. Max roars and Nathan whips around at that. His eyes wide as his fangs are bared. She can smell his fear as she slams into him. Forcing him into the wall beside Chloe as Chloe hurries out of the way.

With a forearm pressed against Nathan’s throat she pinned him to the wall a few feet above the ground. He claws at her arm, tearing into fur and flesh but it does nothing but anger her as she snaps her jaws at him and growls. He whimpers in her hold then she looks to Chloe who had fallen on her ass and stopped halfway to the door as she gawks at Max. She leans on her palms on the bathroom floor.

Max then speaks. Her voice comes out gruff and more like a growl than anything, “Leave.”

Chloe doesn't seem to have to be told twice as she scrambles to her feet and bolts out the door. Once Max is sure Chloe is out of the building by the way her scent dissipates, she lets Nathan go just as he swipes at her with sharp claws. She moves her head to the side and then snaps her maw at him. He flinches away as her teeth come awfully close to his throat.

Then she pulls away from him even as the beast tells her to finish him, give him the final death. But that wasn't going to happen. Chloe was safe now. And that would piss Mr. Jefferson off.

“You leave too.” She growls.

He nods and bends to pick up his gun only for Max’s paw to grab it first. She holds it by the barrel and effortlessly bends it in half then thrusts it into his hands against his chest. He shivers but takes it, stuffs it in his jacket, and then scrambles out of the bathroom.

After the door swings close, Max turns back to the mirrors. She stands far too tall to see her face but as she bends down to look what greets her is the snout of a wolf but with her blue eyes. They are slitted like a cat’s. She was used to seeing herself like this. Five years of turning and it sort of grew on her. Seeing herself fully shifted was a little strange though. It had been a while since she had seen herself like this. The last time she had was a few years ago when she saw herself in the reflection of a lake.

Concentrating on that memory helps her calm down as she becomes shorter. The hair also retracts as her face returns to normal. No snout and wolf ears now but her eyes stay slitted as she now stares at her mostly naked form in the mirror. Her underwear was still intact but only because Max had invested in boxers that could shift with her. But the ruins of what had been her other clothes cling to her form but don't even come close to covering anything. She sighs and shakes like a dog. The torn remainder of her clothes drop to the floor at that.

_ Damn that was one of my fav shirts. _

She sighs. At least she had learned her lesson years ago what happens when you keep things in your pockets then turn. So at least all she lost in that was a pair of jeans, a bra, and a t-shirt.

_ Good thing I always keep spares _.

With that she returns to her satchel and gets dressed again. After she is dressed and her shoes are on she pulls on her jacket then her stachel follows. She then picks up the scraps of what is left of her clothes. Sometime in the middle of getting dressed the alarm had gotten softer.

_ At least the noise isn't as bad _.

Fire alarms had always been the worse because of heightened sense. It wasn't quite like a dog whistle but it was close. It was still loud and annoying and having been shifted had made it even louder but the need to protect Chloe was what mattered.

And now she really needed to find Chloe and make sure she was okay. There was no question that had been intense. Chloe had come toe to toe with two supernaturals within a closed off space. That would scare the shit out of any mortal. Plus Nathan had threatened her life and there was no telling what she thought of Max, not that it seemed she knew that had been Max.

Max lets out a deep sigh as she exits the bathroom. At least the halls were empty now.

“Hey, do you hear that fire alarm? That means you should be outside.”

_ Guess they aren't completely empty. _

Before her stood a security guard at least a foot or so taller than herself. He smelled of oil like Chloe but with a hint of alcohol and other smells Max didn't care too much to pinpoint right now.

“I was using the bathroom. Sorry.”

He frowns, his mustache twitching, “Girls always use that excuse.”

She raises an eyebrow.

_ Is he really trying to pin something on me? _

She knew David Madson was paranoid. This wasn't the first time he was grilling her. With some of the questions he had fired her way, she was very sure he was aware of the supernatural presence at Blackwell. She just hoped he wasn't a Hunter. That could cause more problems than anything she had ever dealt with. Then again, if he was she could tell Mr. Jefferson and she was pretty sure he would deal with Mr. Madson promptly, as awful as that sounded.

“Use that excuse for what?” She asks, a bit curious to his answer.

“For whatever you're up to. Your face is covered in guilt.”

She sure hoped that was all he was seeing. She hasn't checked to make sure her eyes were back to normal. Then again he hadn't reacted right away, so she assumed she was okay.

“That alarm just threw me off. I was in the middle of peeing.”

Mr. Madson frowns deeply and opens his mouth to more in likely grill her more but he is interpreted by Principal Wells down the hallway, “Thank you, Mr. Madsen, the situation is under control. There's no emergency here. Leave Miss Caulfield alone and please turn off that alarm, since that's your job.”

He grumbles but turns away after shooting one more glare at Max. She runs a hand through her hair that is probably a huge mess from having just shifted.

_ This full moon is throwing everything out of whack, and what the hell did Chloe want with Nathan? _

Max becomes lost in thought as she walks toward the exit but just as her hand touches the door, Principal Wells speaks from where he stands at his office door, “Hold on, Max.”

She turns to look at him over her shoulder with her hand still on the door, “Yeah?”

“You look a bit stressed out. Are you okay?”

She tilts her head at him slightly, “Gosh, if you're asking I must look pretty bad, huh?”

“You are sweating pinballs. If something is the matter, I am here to do what I can. You can be up front with me, Max.”

That she highly doubted. Mr. Jefferson told her how deep in the Prescotts’ pockets he was plus he was mortal. He might be aware that she was a werewolf for safety purposes but that didn't mean she was going to tell him every little detail about being a wolf. And there was no way she was going to tell him about the scuffle in the girl’s bathroom.

_ However, telling him a little bit wouldn't hurt _, “It's a full moon tonight.”

She watches as the realisation dawns across his features as his stoic resolve breaks briefly but returns quickly, “I see. I hope you have a handle on that.”

“Of course. This isn't my first full moon, Mr. Wells.”

“I didn't think so. Your parents did inform me you have been dealing with this for five years. But the students’ safety is my priority.”

She nods, “I'll stay away from the dorms for sure; like I always do when I shift.”

“Thank you, Max. I'm sure you understand what would happen if you happened to hurt a fellow student.”

She didn't like the way that sounded like a threat. But she did understand. Even if it was accidental, Wells would have to report her to the town and from there they would keep tabs on her which would make it much easier for Hunters to find her. While some supernaturals were happily out in the open, like her mother, Max couldn't take that risk being a werewolf. Her mother was a witch. A supernatural not many mortals bat their eyes at. To them werewolves, demons, and vampires were on the top of the list of being labeled as the most dangerous.

“I understand.” She says after clearing her throat to hide the growl that was trying to form.

“That will be all then, Max. Precede outside with the rest of your class.”

She then exits the building, not even sparing Wells another look. She would be glad once this full moon passed. Having only half control over her emotions could be dangerous.

The sunlight greets her as soon as she steps out of the door and down the main steps of Blackwell. The main campus was crowded. Brooke was flying her drone. Which Max had the sudden urge to chase. She pushed that down as she spotted the skaters closer to the road. Justin and Trevor were taking turns doing tricks. She'd thought about hanging out with them. But Max had to be honest she'd had a few run ins with goblins and each time had been annoying. The two skaters had never tried to take her camera, but maybe she'd talk with them when it was less likely for her to go all wolf on them if they asked about the shiny things she carried on her person. And just because they were supernaturals, low on the totem pole too, didn't mean she wanted to be open about being a werewolf to them.

She steps down the stairs to stand before the fountain as she spots Mrs. Grant then Hayden who always stunk of weed and axe body spray. Two smells she didn't much care for, but they did remind her of Chloe.

The beast stirs at that.

_ Still need to find Chloe. _

But as she turns to maybe try and pick up Chloe’s scent her phone buzzes in her pocket. She checks it.

**Warren:** hey, think I could get my flash drive back? I'm in the parking lot. Thxs, Mad Max :P

She sighs at that. She had completely forgotten about that. She had borrowed it for a pretty stupid reason. Ever since Mr. Jefferson had been open to her about being a vampire, she had been watching vampire movies to find the best questions to ask of Mr. Jefferson. She couldn't help but be curious when she had an elder vamp ripe for the questioning.

Watching _ Twilight _ had yielded in being the funniest round of questions yet. _ Fright Night _ was another good one that Mr. Jefferson had said was one of his favorite vampire movies. But given the questioning she had put him through, she found that the more gory the movie, the more interested Mr. Jefferson was. Which she sort of understood. She quite enjoyed watching movies with dogs in them. Preferably where the dog was the star and didn't die.

With that train of thought going, she strode across campus with purpose toward the dorms. The grounds before the dorms were busy. Zach and Logan were throwing a football back and forth in front of the building. Kate and Alyssa sat outside and Max could tell right away why that was. Victoria and her cronies, Courtney and Taylor sat on the steps in front of the dorms.

Max huffs. She didn't really want to deal with them, not after just shifting. The beast was still scarily close to the surface of being let out again. But even as that was the case she needed Warren’s flash drive. She liked doing things for her pack. And she considered Warren and Kate members of it. And Chloe if she ever forgives Max for all those years of silence.

So she approaches the steps.

As soon as she gets close enough, Victoria flashes a smirk, “Oh, look, it's Max Caulfield, the selfie ho of Blackwell. What a lame gimmick. Even Mark Jefferson falls for your waif hipster bullshit,” She then attempts to mock Max, which ends up just being her raising her voice an octave, “‘You wanted to speak to me, Mr. Jefferson,’ what an ass kisser.”

Courtney and Taylor laugh at that.

Max rolls her eyes.

_ You're one to talk miss teacher’s pet. _

“I'm sure you can find another way in. We ain't moving,” A devilish smirk that dances onto Victoria's face, “Wait, hold that pose,” With that being said, Victoria pulls out her phone and takes a picture of Max.

The flash goes off.

Max moves with lightning fast reflexes and grabs a hold of Victoria’s phone. Her hand engulfs the top of the phone. She is careful not to crush it. Max had learned long ago that each supernatural had their own pet peeves and little things that angered whatever beast they were dealing with. Mr. Jefferson’s main ones were mirrors and most reflective surfaces.

Max’s was camera flashes.

The three girl’s gawk at Max who rips the phone from Victoria's grip and deletes the photo as an excuse for grabbing at Victoria but it was purely because of the flash. Any kind of flashing lights were huge triggers for the beast. Most times she could keep that under wraps as long as the flash wasn't in her face and she was the one taking the photo, behind the lens.

She then tosses Victoria back her phone and without missing a beat, she steps over the three of them and heads for the door.

“Now you just wait a minute, bitch-”

Max turns to glare at Victoria. Her self control was very low. She growls. The sound bubbles up her throat from deep within her chest, “Leave me alone and move off the fucking steps.”

Victoria and her cronies stiffen at that.

Max then disappears into the building. She bounds up the flight of steps to the third floor then after closing the door leading to the hallway on her floor, she presses against it and takes a moment to settle down.

_ Fuck full moons. _

Max then hurries down the hallway to her room. Once there she leans against the door and looks over the small area. She spots a sticky note on her laptop. Even from where she is she can read it.

_ Hey, Max. I'm gonna borrow the flash drive. It's in my room whenever you need it back. _

_ Xoxox _

_ -Dana _

Max huffs out of her nose with a scoff as she begins to place her school books and binders on her bed for later. She also throws away the tattered remains of her clothes. Then her eyes land on her door.

_ Great. Now I have to go back out there and risk a run in with Queen Bitch. Whatever. _

She needed that flash drive plus she could just snarl at Victoria again to get her to back off. Max shrugs to herself at that as she exits her room.

As soon as she does so she can hear an angry Juliet speak from down the hallway, “You can't get out now, Dana! So tell me the truth, or rot in there!”

Juliet leans against Dana’s door. Max can smell the anger fuming from her. She was seething about something Dana did as she texts on her phone with a mumbled “wuss.”

“Let me out, Juliet! This is so stupid. You are ridiculous. If you don't let me out, I’ll scream!” Dana calls out from behind the door.

_ Drama. How wonderful. _

And some Max knew she had to get involved in to get that flash drive back anytime soon. She strides down the hallway to Juliet and stops before her as she speaks, “What's going on?”

Juliet crosses her arms and asks harshly, “That's not much of your business is it, Max?”

The beast bristles but she stays calm, “What she do?”

Juliet frowns but huffs and stares at her feet briefly, “What didn't she do? Dana's been sexting with my boyfriend.”

“Your best friend's been sexting your boyfriend?” Max didn't believe that for a second so she doesn't hide the disbelief she was feeling.

That wasn't like Dana at all. Dana was sweet and took the time to make sure everyone was okay. Max was tempted to consider her as a packmate but the fact she was part of the Vortex Club and wasn't there when Kate needed her, was a bit of a catch.

Juliet frowns, “Why do you even care?”

“Because Dana is a good friend of mine too and I find it rather unfair you're locking her up for something we both know she didn't did.”

Juliet hesitates at that.

Max runs a hand through her hair to calm the floof down a bit, “Who told you?”

“Victoria. She said she saw the sext. And Zach won't answer his damn phone.”

Max huffs.

_ Of course. Queen drama brings everyone down. _

“Max, I swear I didn't do anything! But I bet Victoria did! I know the proof is in her room.” Dana calls from the other side of the door.

Max grunts at that, “I'll check it out then.”

With that she trudges back down the hallway. She knocks on Victoria's door. When no one yells at her for knocking she opens the door and slides inside. The room is empty and it doesn't take long with heightened senses to find the email that shows Dana’s innocent. While waiting for it to print off, she looks around the room. It is a little bigger than her own with a large tv across the room.

_ Damn. Rich kids be rich. _

It also smells like Victoria. Which makes the beast purr in approval. Why it had such a fascination over the Queen Bitch didn't make any sense but Max was stuck taking in the scent of the room till the email finished printing.

Once it was she grabbed it and hurried from the room and strode back down the hallway to Juliet who was still trying to get a hold of Zach.

Max then held out the printed email, “Here, Juliet.”

She took the paper and began reading. Her anger slowly fading and slowly being replaced with guilt, “Oh shit…” She opens the door, “I'm such an asshole. I am _ so _ sorry, Dana.”

Dana stands in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a grin playing on her lips, “You are, and I hope so. You really think I'd mess around with Zachary?”

Juliet looks down at that, “No. But I get stupid jealous. And I wasn't thinking. I owe you dinner. Still love me?”

Dana smirks, “And you get to do my laundry.”

Juliet nods to that, “Deal. I owe you so much to make up for that,” Then she turns to look to Max, “Thanks, Max. Now I got to go see what Zach has to say about Victoria.” With that Juliet makes her exit. Her anger returning, just redirected now.

Dana then engulfs Max in a hug that she half returns.

_ She smells like flowers. _

“You set me free! Thank you so much, Max. Warren's flash drive is on my desk.”

Max smiles and pats Dana’s back with one hand. Then they pull away from one another as Dana returns to her bed and Max enters Dana’s room, “No problem. That wasn't very fair of Juliet.”

Dana’s room is a bit neater then Max’s and the window sill is filled with a variety of different plants that sit in pots. The smell that filled Dana’s room always calmed the beast. Max had always thought she was a dryad but she had never gotten much of an earthy scent from Dana. Granted she did use a lot of makeup and perfume and Dana probably didn't spend a lot of time in the woods. Max had her suspicions but she felt it rude to ask. She had learned that many supernaturals liked keeping to themselves, herself included, and that meant asking if they were supernatural was seen as overly invasive.

Dana then shrugs before she speaks, pulling Max from her thoughts, “Not the worse she's done, besides now she owes me dinner _ and _ she gets to do my laundry.”

Max laughs softly as she moves to Dana’s desk and retrieves the flash drive, “Get your movie fix?”

“Yeah. Really wanted to watch some _ Mulan _. The number of movies on there are crazy,” Then Dana gives a sly smirk, “And there's a folder on there labeled ‘Max.’”

Max gives a grunt at that, “I saw it. He's got it bad, huh?”

Dana laughs at that, “He does. He clings to you like a lost puppy.”

Max pockets the flash drive with a sigh, “He's a nice guy and all, but he isn't my type.”

Dana smirks as she leans back on her bed, “Oh? What gets Maxi ticking?”

Max gives a big toothy grin as she replies teasingly with, “Wouldn't you like to know.”

She notices the way Dana’s smile twitches as her eyes dart to Max’s lips but Max is pretty sure that action isn't what she thinks it is. She then realises that she just flashed Dana all her canines. She quickly switches to a closed mouth smile to play it off as Dana’s eyes flick back up to meet Max’s.

Max then moves toward the door, “Welp, I got to return the flash drive. I'm a Max on a mission. I'll talk to you later, Dana.”

“Yeah...yeah! Talk to you later, Max. And thanks again for helping me out.”

Max gives a nod and flashes a closed mouth smile again as she then exits.

_ Well, shit. _

Once outside Max is happy to find Victoria and the cronies gone as she bounds down the stairs.

_ I can’t believe I just did that. Shit. Dana is so going to ask questions. _

She passes the football dummies at a brisk pace just as Zach throws the football him and Logan were passing back and forth straight at the ground, which breaks her out of her thoughts momentarily.

“Fuck this shit!”

Max watches it soar. Alyssa was still sitting on the bench reading. Max moves just as her brain realizes what is going to occur. She runs behind Alyssa and effortlessly catches the football. Alyssa turns at that and gawks at Max who drops the football quickly into her arms as she had caught it in her mouth. With her free arm she wipes spit from her mouth as she also cleans off the football with her sleeve.

“Wow, Max.” Alyssa gawks.

Logan then calls to Max, “Nice catch, Max!”

She tosses the football back to him and he catches it with ease. In Seattle, she had played a lot of football with her friends as the sport had been a good stress reliever and a way to get rid of all the pent up energy she had in her. She couldn't really shift as she pleased in a city. At least here in Arcadia she could hide out in the woods and chase animals to her heart’s content. She missed playing football with her Seattle pack, but there was no way she could play with anyone here.

She runs a hand through her hair, “Well, it was going to hit you.”

Aylssa smiles, “Thanks for the save then, Max.”

“No problem.”

With that wrapped up, Max gives a shake like a dog once she is far enough from them to not notice her. She needed to do _ so _ much running tonight. Just as she finishes shaking she stops, and spots David towering over Kate. Max also picks up the conversation.

“-so don't think I'm blind. I see everything here at Blackwell. Do you understand what I'm saying?”

Kate backs up from him and cowards, “No, just leave me alone.”

The beast snarls and Max steps fully around the corner without hesitation.

_ No one messes with my pack. _

“Back off.”

David and Kate look to Max who stands with her chest puffed out and shoulders back.

David frowns, “Excuse us, this is official campus business-”

“That doesn't matter. You heard her. Leave her be.”

“I'm just doing my job-”

“No you aren't,” Max says as she steps into his space now, “You're bullying a student.”

He takes a step back from Max, a bit bewildered that someone so small could throw him off his game, “I-I'll remember this conversation.”

Then he storms off. Max watches him closely. After a few moments pass after he leaves, Max lets her shoulders drop.

Kate beams at Max, “Oh, Max, that was great. I think you scared him for once. I have to go, but thank you so much. It means a lot.”

Max puffs her chest out proudly again as she grins, “Anytime, Kate.”

With that they part ways.

_ What the hell is David’s deal? Kate’s already dealing with so much. He doesn't think she's supernatural does he? _

Walking through the campus is a blur to Max as she hurries to Warren. The sooner he got his flash drive the sooner Max could crash in her dorm room, get homework done, then wait for the full moon in peace.

The parking lot hosted a number of cars and she spots Warren right away at the back of the parking lot leaning against a car of his own. Her eyes scan the area as she walks. A rusted pick up takes up two handicap spots. In the back she spots a box overflowing with Rachel Amber missing posters. It was clear whoever owned that truck was the one who put the posters up all around the school. An old musty RV sat near the far side of the lot. She could smell another dog from within as well as the many scents of drugs she didn’t know the names for.

“Yo, Max! Check it out!” Warren calls out to her once he spots her across the parking lot.

She makes her way toward him, “Hey, Warren.”

“What’s up, Max? How’re you?”

He steps forward with his arms outstretched which she sadly saw coming from a mile away. So she ducks down and retrieves the flash drive from her pocket and holds it out to him. He awkwardly rubs behind his head as he takes the flash drive with his free hand.

“Here's your flash. Thanks by the way.”

He smiles as he gestures to the car he leans against, “No problem. Check out my new wheels.”

She looks over the car. She had to admit, it was pretty cool how retro it looked, “I dig the old school vibe.”

He crosses his arms and puffs his chest out proudly, “1978, to be exact. Now we can go to the drive-in. There's one in Newberg, just sixty miles away.”

“Nice. Thinking of bringing a lady friend?”

He chuckles nervously, “I was wondering if you wanted to go.”

Max had to be honest with herself, that didn’t sound too bad but she wasn’t going to string him a long, plus there was too much going on right now, “Maybe, as friends, but there’s a lot going on right now.”

He deflates a little at that, “Oh, yeah. As friends.”

She sighs at that, “Sorry, Warren. I don’t swing that way.”

His face turns bright red at that, “Oh...Oh!”

“I’m sure Brooke would love to, though.” Max says with a smirk.

Warren perks up at that, “You think so?”

She holds her smirk, “I know so.”

Warren leans back against his car, “You’re chill, Max. I’ll be sure to ask her. Anyways...” He twirls the flash drive between his fingers, “Did you get a chance to check out the movie booty on my flash drive?”

_ That went a lot better than I thought it was going to. _

“Yeah. Watched a bit here and there. You have some pretty cool stuff on there.”

He holds his smile, “What tickled your fancy?”

“_ Underdog _ was pretty good. Oh same with _ K-9 _ . The sequel _ K-911 _ wasn’t _ as _ good but I still enjoyed it.”

Warren holds back a snicker, “You watched those out of everything on there?”

“Hell yeah I did. I also quite enjoyed your collection of emo-vampire movies, too. I binged most of them.”

He chuckles at that, “Well, as a sensitive teen, I like my sensitive vampires.”

“They were pretty good, not gonna lie.”

“You watch _ Cannibal Holocaust _?”

She opens her mouth to speak and almost says, _ No, but Jefferson did. _

Instead she clears her throat, “Could only get half an hour in. It wasn’t really my cup of tea, though I was surprised you had _ Faster, Pussycat. Kill! Kill! _”

“What can I say I consider myself a pop cultural pirate connoisseur.”

“What a way to put ‘thief.’”

They both laugh at that.

Then Warren speaks after they both calm down, “So you said a lot was going on. Anything you want to talk about?”

She leans against his car next to him and looks up to the sky briefly, “Honestly, I don’t know. Not sure if I’m ready to yet.”

Warren tilts his head toward her, “That’s cool. I’m here whenever.”

“Thanks, Warren.”

“Max Caulfield, right? You're one of the ones who follow Jefferson like a lost puppy.”

Max’s eyes narrow at Nathan Prescott as the young vampire makes his way across the parking lot toward her and Warren.

“I wouldn’t go that far. I’m just one of his students.”

“Whatthefuckever. I know you like sticking your nose in things like some mutt, especially when you're hiding out in the bathrooms.”

She narrows her eyes at him.

_ So this is how he wants to play this, huh? _

“At least I know how to control myself.”

He bristles at that. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to assert himself as the dominant one even if she had made him practically piss himself in the bathroom. But it seemed he put two and two together of her being the werewolf that showed him who was boss. How, she wasn’t sure, but she could always ask later.

“From now on, you should keep your snout to yourself, mutt.”

Her jaw tightens at that. He knew she was trying to keep to herself, he had to. That's why he was calling her out in such a public place, “And you should learn how to keep your fangs put away, buck tooth.”

He steps into her space at that, “How _ dare _ you.”

Warren then decides to step up, “Hey, dude. Leave her alone.”

Nathan snarls and then turns toward Warren. His head cracks against Warren’s forehead, dropping him to the ground.

Max growls at that and steps forward, “That’s enough. Step off.”

His hand flies to her neck. He grips her by the jugular as she narrows her eyes at him, “Don’t tell me what to do, mutt. Nobody tells me what to do. Not my parents, not the Principal, or that whore in the bathroom.”

“If you fuck off right now, then I won’t have to _ show _ you what to do,” She fights back the shift she can feel coming on but she is sure her eyes are slitted, “And be careful what words you use for who.”

He bares his fangs at her and she growls, baring her teeth in turn.

Then the rusted pickup she saw early pulls up, almost hitting Nathan. He lets go of her and jumps out of the way of the truck.

Max then shoves him into the pavement her voice deepens as she was still fighting the shift, “Leave me and my pack alone.”

“Max?”

She looks up at that. Behind the driver's seat of the rusted truck sat Chloe Price her once best friend and captain.

“Chloe.” She smiles, all teeth.

Chloe’s eyes widen then her eyes dart to Nathan as she leans quickly over to open the passenger door, “Get in, Max!”

Max doesn’t question it as she climbs into the truck. Nathan kicks the door closed, “Get back out here, mutt!”

She snarls and snaps at him as she sticks her head out the window. He recoils and falls back down onto the pavement. Just as Chloe slams on the gas and speeds away from Blackwell.

Silence fills the cab as Max leans back into the seat and closes her eyes. The beast claws against the surface as she fights against it. Then Chloe’s scent washes over her. She inhales and that settles the beast down.

For now.

“It’s good to see you, Chloe.” Max finally says as she opens her eyes.

Chloe looks to her briefly then back to the road, “It’s good to see you too, Max. I can’t believe you were going toe to toe with Nathan Prescock.”

Max sighs and tilts her head back, “It’s been that kind of day.”

Then she looks to Chloe. The full tattoo sleeve caught her eyes first then the brilliant bright blue hair.

_ Wow. _

“So what he want with you anyways?”

Max still stares at Chloe. This was a conversation she had dreaded all month. And she had dreaded the fact that Chloe would hate her. But that didn’t seem to be the case right now, and Max didn’t know how to reply. She was thrown back to being that teenage girl she was all those years ago before she moved.

When the silence stretched for far too long, Chloe turned to look at Max. They locked eyes.

Chloe’s eyes go wide.

The truck then swerves, “Holy shit!”

She quickly rights the truck then pulls it over. Max cocks her head to the side.

_ Wha-oh. My eyes… _

Max then looks away from Chloe who stares through the windshield, “You...you were in the bathroom...You were the wolf. Holy fucking shit, Max…”

Max waves her hands and wiggles her fingers, “Yeah. Surprise.”

Chloe gawks at her then bursts out laughing, “You saved my ass, Maxi!”

Then after putting the truck in park, she grabs a hold of Max and hugs her close. Max can’t hold back anymore. She hugs Chloe back but is careful to not squeeze too hard. Holding Chloe like this felt like nothing had changed between then. Like they were still skinny preteens playing pirates.

She then mumbles against Chloe’s shoulder, “I'm sorry I didn't keep in contact…”

Chloe squeezes her, “It's...it's okay, dude.”

“My parents locked me away after I got bit and...I was terrified you would be scared of me if I told you what was up.” Max says as she nuzzles Chloe's shoulder.

Chloe is silent at that and part of Max was worried she said something wrong till Chloe pats the top of her head, “I'll be honest, I am a little angry but I get it. Plus you saved me ass.”

Chloe pulls away slightly, her hands firmly squeeze Max’s shoulders and she grins.

Max grins back and Chloe stares then Max closes her mouth, “Oops. Sorry the beast is a bit all over the place with a full moon tonight.”

“So werewolves really are affected by the full moon?” Chloe asks as they pull apart fully.

Max shrugs, “Most supernaturals are. Wolves get it the worse though.”

Chloe leans back in her seat, “Damn. I still can't believe you’re a werewolf _ and _ you went toe to toe with Prescock.”

Max grins, all teeth this time, as she puffs her chest out, “Well, I know I'm strong. I was my pack’s alpha in Seattle.”

Chloe raises an eyebrow, “Shy little Maxi was an alpha of a pack of werewolves?”

“Not just wolves but yeah. I um,” She rubs behind her head, “...changed a lot in Seattle after being bit.”

Chloe starts the truck back up and pulls back onto the road as she continues driving then she says teasingly, “Never would have thought it after watching you pin Prescock to a wall and make him piss himself.”

Max chuckles at that, “God, I'm so glad to be back, Chlo.”

Chloe throws Max a lopsided grin, “Glad to have you back, Maxi.”


	2. The Start To Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Chloe do some catching up.
> 
> They run into another werewolf.
> 
> Max says she'll help Chloe find Rachel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> I love that so many of you are excited for this. It's gonna be crazy. I have most scenes planned out and even partly written but I can't decide if I want to write out that whole week the game covers or just do snippets. I will finish Monday before I decide that which will at least be another chapter, sooooo...let me know what you guys want to see!
> 
> Also writing a badass Maxiwolf has been so much fun and I'm glad y'all are enjoying her. There's more to come :P
> 
> Hope y'all have a lovely rest of your day! Thanks for reading! :D

They arrive at Chloe’s house around ten minutes later. The entire time in the cab is spent with them catching up. They laugh and tease each other. It really was like they were preteens again and it felt like those five years apart had never happened.

They were best friends again and it felt amazing to Max.

Chloe leads the way through the front door, “Dude, you gotta tell me more about Seattle.”

Max follows and closes the door behind her as she follows Chloe up the stairs, “What you want to know?”

Chloe opens the door to her bedroom and holds it for Max who strides inside. Chloe then lets the door close behind her as she walks past Max who takes in the messy bedroom.

Chloe hops onto the bed, “How'd you get turned?”

Max’s eyes flicker to Chloe after she strides over to the desk and sets her bag on the computer chair. She leans against the desk as she thinks about that, “We hadn't even been in Seattle for two weeks when my parents took me camping. I really shut down after leaving you and they thought taking me camping would cheer me up. I did get some good shots,” Max shrugs, “Then during a hike dad had to pee and left me alone on the path.”

Chloe sits on the edge of the bed, listening closely, “And it just jumped you?”

Max pauses, thinking over the memory. The wolf hadn't just jumped her. He had spoken to her and even five years later she couldn't forget what he had said to her. But she hesitates. She wasn't sure if she should tell Chloe this.

_ “The moon calls to you. The moon has always called to you. You will lead the charge. The perfect Alpha. I've searched for so long.” _

“Sort of…” Max trails off as she rubs behind her head which turns into her scratching behind her ear. Then she drops her hand to the side once she realizes how dog like that was.

Chloe gives a snort but her smile is soft as Max can see the concern in her eyes. Max can also smell the concern wafting off of Chloe. She had always found it strange how she could _ smell _ emotions but other wolves she had talked to let her know that happened because she was born an alpha.

Chloe then speaks, “Sorry. If you don't wanna talk about it, you don't gotta.”

Max shrugs. A few years ago she wouldn't have wanted to talk about it but she had become stronger.

“It isn't that. The guy that turned me...it wasn't by accident.”

Chloe blinks, “Really?”

“Yeah. He told me I'd be the perfect alpha. If I survived the turning.”

Chloe huffs, “What an asshole.”

Max laughs at that, “Yeah. But here I am.”

Chloe plops back on the bed and stares up at the ceiling, “Damn, Maxi. What exactly does it mean to be an alpha anyways and how come your fur isn't the color of your hair? Isn't that, like, what's supposed to happen?”

“I'm stronger than most wolves and my hair as a wolf is darker because of that.”

There was so much more to being an alpha then just “being stronger,” but that wasn't something Max really wanted to get into. There was no need.

Chloe then peers at Max, “I got a weird question.”

Max raises an eyebrow, “What is it?”

“Actually I got two. But how does the whole werewolf thing work? Being once a month and all.”

Max opened her mouth to ask what Chloe meant until it clicked and she gives a chuckle. She'd gotten that question before. Not that she had ever answered it before, but this was her best friend asking, “Well, it follows the cycle of the moon and female presenting wolves get a little more violent and very territorial over mates.”

Chloe thinks about that for a moment then her eyebrows come together, “That's a weird way to word that.”

“Well, I'm not a female presenting wolf. Well, that's not completely true I guess. Wolves don't have genders really.”

Chloe gives a flabbergasted look as she props herself up on her elbows, “How the hell does that work?”

“Well, wolves technically have biolog-”

Chloe sits up fully, “Not what I meant. How are _ you _ a male wolf?”

Max had to admit, that was a question she had asked herself too in the very beginning, but when she met another alpha, they had explained it to her. It mainly had to do with her turning. She had accepted it a long time ago and she hadn't found it that weird.

_ Was it weird? _

“Most alphas appear as such, since we're bigger in size.”

Chloe rubs her face with both hands, “Dude that's so weird.”

_ I guess it is weird. _

“You had another question?”

“Oh!” Chloe becomes excited at that as she pulls her legs up onto the bed, “Can I see you turn?”

Max can't help but frown slightly. She'd gotten that question before too, and that was her least favorite one mortals would ask. Not that she was out to many mortals, “No.”

Chloe pouts, “Awww. Why not?”

“Because Joyce could come home at anytime and I don't really want her to see me like that.”

That was just an excuse, mainly. The beast was purring deep within at Chloe’s scent and being so close to a full moon...there was no telling what the beast might do to Chloe.

Well, Max had an idea but she didn't really want to think about your now again best friend like that. At least not right now anyways.

Chloe still holds her pout but seemingly accepts that, “I guess you have a point. My step-dick could come home any minute too.”

“Maybe some other time.” Max says without thinking.

_ Shit. _

Chloe beams, “Sweet!”

Max lets out a sigh with a roll of the eyes, “I hope you know my abilities aren't a toy.”

Chloe moves up onto the bed and lays her head on the pillow as she reaches for an ashtray, “Yeah, yeah.”

Max’s noise twitches. She could pick up the strong scent of weed.

“Hey, Maxi, mind putting on some music while I medicate? Oh, and opening the window?”

Max shrugs then turns and opens the window, “Sure, I guess.”

Chloe then gives a smug look, “You want a hit?”

Max huffs as she begins to look for the cds, “Nah. Getting high and full moons don't mix well.”

“And how would you know that?”

Max looks around the room briefly after looking over the desk. Her eyes zero in on a metal lock box that sticks out from under the bed. She crotches down to retrieve it as she speaks, “Another wolf that was apart of my pack attended one of our full moon getaways baked off her ass. It was funny to watch but I had to catch her from falling out of a tree twice.”

Chloe laughs at that then lets smoke out toward the window. Then she asks, “Wait, what the hell is a ‘full moon getaway?’”

Max opens the box then sorts through it, “Well, you can't really run around a city fully transformed. The former alpha of the group had a log cabin just outside the city limits where we would go to. My parents used to just lock me in my room, but once I got strong enough, I kinda smashed through the window and ran away,” She grabs the cd once she finds it, “So that was when they realized I should join a support group for supernaturals. They were the pack I was talking about. It was like a therapy group kinda.”

Max moves to stand but then pauses. Her eyes zero in on a photo of none other than Rachel Amber. It was the same photo on all the posters. So Max picks it up and unfolds it. Chloe is in the other half of the photo, an arm around Rachel as she flips the camera off. Max picks up two scents from the photo. Chloe's and a smoke like smell.

_ Rachel was an elemental? _

“You were friends with Rachel?” Max blurts out.

Right away Max realizes her mistake. She can feel sorrow and rage waft off of Chloe.

“What're you doing?”

Making use of her super speed, Max hastily places the photo back in the box, closes it then slides it back under the bed. She stands to see the hurt look on Chloe’s face. She didn't mean to be nosy. She was normally curious but that trait had gotten really bad ever since she was turned.

“I'm sorry, Chloe. I didn't mean-”

Chloe sighs and plops back onto the bed, “She was my girlfriend.”

Max takes this information in slowly, “Oh. I'm sorry, Chloe.”

“Can you just put some music on?”

Max just nods and turns toward the hi-fi with cd in hand. She didn't like the defeated tone Chloe had used.

_ Of course the first thing I do after reuniting with Chloe is fuck it up. _

She places the cd in the hi-fi then she has to plug it in. Then the music starts to play. Loud punk music that Max didn't much care for but it had a good beat. Max then takes a seat on the edge of the bed as Chloe smokes silently.

Then the bed creaks.

Max looks to see Chloe standing at the head of the bed with a smirk on her face and smelling of weed, “Get your puppy ass up here and dance with me.”

Max giggles, “You mean bitch ass?”

Chloe grabs ahold of Max’s hands and tugs her up onto the bed so they stand together as Chloe begins to sway back and forth, “No because you're a dude wolf. Now shake that butt hippie.”

Max giggles and starts to dance with Chloe on her bed. They giggle and playfully push each other around as they dance to the beat. Max was happy she hadn't fully ruined the moment of them reuniting. Dancing like idiots also seemed to improve Chloe’s mood as she grins and laughs along with Max.

Then a door slams shut downstairs and Chloe stiffens, “Chloe! What did I say about blaring that shit!”

Max knew that voice and the smell that came with it right away.

_ David Madson. _

“Shit.” Chloe curses as she hops down from the bed and quickly shuts her music off.

Max can hear David sighs as she trudges up the stairs, “I've told you a million times, Chloe, how I don't like you playing your music so loud.”

Max can smell the panic coming off of Chloe as she turns to Max. She whispers, “You gotta hide, Max.”

Max sits back on the bed. Part of her wanted to listen to Chloe but the beast was snarling at the fact that Chloe was scared of this man. And that overpowered the other part. Chloe was part of her pack now.

So she shakes her head and Chloe’s eyes widen as she opens her mouth, more in likely to tell Max to do otherwise when the door opens.

David stands in the doorway and frowns when his eyes land on Max, “You again?”

Chloe looks between then briefly.

Max leans back on her hands, “Hello, Mr. Madson.”

His frown lingers then he takes a moment as his nose crinkles up, “Is that weed I smell?”

The panic was rising again in Chloe and Max could feel the beast clawing at the surface wanting out to protect Chloe.

“So what?” Chloe says as she gives a glare David’s way.

“Grass isn't allowed in my damn house, Chloe.”

“_ Your _ house? This is mom’s house, thank you very much. It's never going to be yours.”

David’s jaw becomes tight at that as he steps further into the room, “I've told you many times to quit that, Chloe.”

Chloe then takes a step closer to David, “Quit what? Telling you to get the fuck out of mom’s house cause you don't belong here?”

Max is off the bed at that. A shift was coming on and she really didn't walk to wolf out in front of David. She puts herself between David and Chloe. She faces Chloe. They lock eyes and Max can see hers go slightly wide.

Max then babbles out, “How about we just go?”

She tries her hardest to keep her voice even and normal sounding. She could feel her hair becoming shaggier. Could feel her teeth ache as a snout was trying to form that she pushes back with every ounce of willpower she had.

Chloe looks over Max’s shoulder and gives David a frown, “Good idea. We're leaving.”

David gives a huff but moves when Chloe pushes past him after grabbing Max’s bag and thrusting it into Max’s chest who takes it with shaky arms. Max keeps her eyes closed tightly as Chloe grabs her arm and they push pass David. Max had fought off shifts before but shifts during the day of a full moon were always the hardest to fight off. Normally she would just let it happen. Though most times she was locked away in her room or at her home in Seattle when shifts this strong came on to her.

In a blur they are in Chloe’s truck and peeling away from her house. Max sets her bag down. She could at least calm down now but the shift was still coming on. All those emotions were fucking with the beast big time.

“Chloe, pull over.” Max growls out.

Chloe looks from the road briefly to eye Max. Then she does so. She pulls onto the side of the road a few miles from her house which Max could hardly believe she had hold out for so long. She opens the door and jumps out before the truck even fully stops.

“Max-”

Then Max begins to hastily undress. She was not going to ruin two pairs of clothes in one day. She tosses her shirt at Chloe with a growl when she catches her gawking. It lands on Chloe's head, draping over her face and Chloe seems too stunned to do anything as Max tosses the rest of her clothes into the truck, along with her shoes as well just as she feels her body begin to stretch. She growls lowly as she begins to shift.

A snout forms first as her body stretches out. That is followed by thick black fur covering her. She gives a shake with a growl as she can feel a tail wag behind her.

Once fully shifted Max throws her head back and lets out a loud howl.

“Holy. Shit…” Chloe says as she stares at Max wide eyed. Max’s shirt is dropped in her lap as she had been holding it.

Max has to crouch down to look at Chloe in the cab of the trunk. She easily towered over the vehicle. Her body itself was much too large to even try to fit in the cab but the beast had other ideas. Max tries to stuff herself into the cab which rocks the truck as Chloe’s scent swims around in her nose.

“Max!” Chloe presses herself against the driver side door as Max tries to sniff Chloe, inhaling deeply. She takes in Chloe's natural smell as well as the fear. She'd always liked Chloe’s smell. It had always been what home smelled like to her.

Her shoulders get stuck in the door frame so only her head and neck enter the cab but she engulfs the small space anyways as she presses against the door frame with a whine. She wiggles and manages to press her snout against Chloe’s shoulder. She then sniffs her lightly and nuzzles the bare shoulder.

_ Chloe smells so good. I’m glad to be home. _

Her snout then moves up as she nuzzles into Chloe’s neck who shivers. Max lets out a low grumble deep from her throat at that, very close to that of a purr.

“Max. What are you-?”

Then Max licks her, starting at the base of her neck and up to the bottom of her jaw. Chloe shivers again and Max does it again trying desperately to wiggle more into the truck making the whole thing rock again. She licks again and grazes her teeth against soft skin which makes Chloe let out a gasp and reaches for Max’s shoulders to try and shove her off. But that only moves Chloe closer so Max can nip at her shoulder and Chloe’s shoves do nothing as Max was almost like an immovable wall.

“Max,” She gasps out this time as Max licks the underside of her jaw down the front of her jugular. Chloe tips her head back involuntarily and shivers, burying her fingers in Max’s fur, “Stop. Max. Sto-ahhh.”

Max nuzzles down Chloe’s front, pressing her nose into Chloe's chest. She can feel Chloe’s racing heart beat against her nose as she opens her maw to clamp onto the top of Chloe’s shirt with full intention of ripping it off.

But Chloe slaps her in the side of the jaw.

Max pulls away briefly to inspect Chloe. Chloe shivers as she breathes heavily, face and neck flushed red as she looks embarrassed and scared.

_ What was I- _

Max then stiffens as her eyes become wide, “Chlo.” She gruffs out.

Chloe presses back against the driver side door and lets out a breathless laugh as she draps a hand over her eyes, “You should have fucking warned me werewolves get horny during the full moon too.”

“Sorry.” Max says as her ears droop slightly.

“Like, _ fuck _, Max…”

Max looks down at that and gruffs out, “That's why. Didn't want change in room. You smell good.”

Max peers up to watch the blush darken on Chloe’s cheeks that stretches to her ears, “Fucking hell, Max.”

Max pulls from the cab, unlodging her shoulders from the door frame and takes a step back from the truck. Her tail wags slightly behind her as Chloe's smell is still in her nose. She felt a little embarrassed herself. She'd never lost control like that before. Most times that was the easiest side to manage. Her aggressive side, not so much.

_ Get a hold of yourself, Max. She has a girlfriend and you guys just met back- _

Then a howl sounds from within the woods.

Her ears perk up at that as she turns to stare into the woods. Chloe pokes her head out of the cab, “Max?”

She tips her head to eye Chloe over her shoulder, “Wolf howled back.”

Chloe takes a moment to fix her beanie then her shirt as she climbs out of the truck and shuts the passenger door, “Is that good or bad?”

“Don't know.”

Max then looks back to the woods and tips her head back as she lets loose a long howl. There is a pause then there is a howl back almost right away. After that Max stocks forward and into the woods. Chloe makes a face but follows as Max leads the way on all fours. Then the two of them emerge on the other side of this small patch of trees to the beach. Max then spots the lighthouse up on the ridge.

_ Chloe was taking me to the lighthouse. That's kinda cute. _

Then her eyes return to the beach where the dusty RV she saw at Blackwell sits. Before the RV sits a sandy haired wolf. It seems he was rolling around in the sand with his dog that Max had smelled earlier. He quickly stands when he spots Max. And he growls. He wasn't an alpha so Max was a lot bigger than him. Max continues to trot onto the beach.

Chloe emerges from the woods, swatting at leaves and stray tree branches, “Max, what the fuck?”

The wolf puffs his chest out and growls at Max who stands to her full height upon her hindlegs. His growl gets caught in his throat at the sight of her as she looks down at him. She was at least two or three feet taller than him.

“Oh. Hey, Frank.”

His eyes flicker to Chloe as do Max’s, “Know him?”

Chloe shrugs, “He's my drug dealer.”

Max looks back to him to catch him bending his head as he snarls at Chloe. Max’s growl rumbles loudly in her throat as she quickly bends and snaps her jaw at him. His eyes go wide as he hops back and bows his head before Max.

Chloe hits Max’s side, “Stop that. You're scaring the shit out of him.”

Max eyes him as he backs off from Max who decides to pace behind Chloe. She had so much pent up energy. She could go for a good sprint in the woods. Or three.

Frank pulls back and they watch as he begins to slowly become smaller as he unshifts. He strides into his RV before he finishes fully unchanging and when he steps out again he's in the middle of buckling up his jeans. His neck and the top of his chest are tattooed. He ruffles his sandy locks on the top of his head then he strokes his goatee. He appeared to be in his early thirties, late twenties.

He wears a deep frown toward Max then he looks down at Chloe, “Why the fuck are hanging out with an alpha, Bulldog? Haven't you learned your lesson about that?”

Chloe looks back to Max who towers over Chloe. Max looks back down at her and cocks her head. Chloe then looks back to Frank and gestures with a smile, “Calm your tits, Frank. This is Max. My best friend.”

Frank raises an eyebrow, “The one who ghosted you for five years?”

Chloe shifts from foot to foot, “Yeah...”

“Got bit in Seattle,” Max says, “Got locked away.”

Frank then frowns, “You seem like you did get bit by a strong wolf.”

Max huffs at that.

Frank then crosses his arms and looks back to Chloe, “Also just bluntly saying I'm a drug dealer, not cool.”

Chloe shrugs, “I just speak the truth, dude.”

Frank rolls his eyes then he looks back to Max, “You scared the shit out of me when you howled. Arcadia Bay hasn't seen an alpha in three years.”

Max tilts her head at that, “Really?”

“The last one went crazy,” Chloe says with a shake of her head, “He did some insane shit.”

Frank scoffs, “Most wolves here are male presenting so you'll probably get lots of challenges.”

“Last full moon did. Most pups.” Max gruffs.

Frank laughs, “I wondered why some of the guys were all bruised up and looking shameful.”

Max can't help but puff her chest out proudly.

Chloe then pats Max's back, “Good seeing you, Frank. Sorry for scaring ya.”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Max says when Chloe elbows her.

Frank shrugs, “It's all good. But before you disappear, can we print, Max?”

Max looks down at him. His eyes are slitted as she can smell the excitement coming off of him. Printing was the act of a wolf making an alpha apart of their pack or an alpha making a wolf apart of their pack. It was mainly an instinct thing. The beast knew who was a good alpha and who wasn't.

It knew who was worthy and who wasn't.

Max gives a grin. The beast purrs in delight that another powerful wolf wanted her to be his alpha, “Sure.”

Chloe makes a face of confusion and opens her mouth to speak when Frank shimmies out of his jeans. Chloe quickly covers her eyes and turns away, “Jesus Christ, Frank!”

The nudity didn't even phase Max as Frank begins to shift. He gives a shake. Then he stands tall and bares his neck for Max who strides over to him as her tail brushes against Chloe’s side. She bares her teeth at him and snarls at him. He whimpers and arches his neck. Her teeth then gently sink into the thick skin of Frank’s shoulder and she bites down briefly before gently separating from him. She watches the wound heal as she offers her arm to him. He bites into her forearm just as slowly then he pulls back and she stands tall and cracks her neck as the wound heals.

She gives a soft growl and Frank looks up at her as she had caught him eyeing Chloe who gawks at them.

“_Mine_,” She growls deeply and Frank nods quickly as his gaze returns to Max, “Tell pack that.” Then she turns to face Chloe who looks up at her, “Chlo. Let's leave.”

She nods and follows as Max trudges through the woods on two legs this time careful to watch Chloe as they return to the truck. Once they arrive at the truck Chloe looks up at Max. Max looks back.

Chloe opens her mouth then shakes her head as she moves toward the truck.

“Chlo.”

Chloe pauses with her hand on the passenger door handle.

“What's on your mind?”

The punk hesitates then looks back at Max, “You...um...called me yours?”

The softness in Chloe’s eyes has the beast stirring around, “Yes.”

Chloe turns to face Max, “So that...thing that happened earlier wasn't just because your a horny dog?”

Max moves closer to Chloe, “No.”

Chloe presses against the passenger door and peers up at Max who now stands before her. She towers over Chloe as she peers down at the blue haired punk.

“Does that bother you?”

Chloe looks away from Max but gives a shake of the head, “Not really. I just didn't think you cared that much...” Chloe then bites her bottom lip, “But...I, um, still care a lot about Rachel though, and I'm worried about her.”

The beast grumbles at that but Max backs off, “How long missing?”

Chloe brushes herself off and gives a sigh of relief that Max gives her some space, “Six months…”

“What happened?”

Chloe sighs as her shoulders slump, “She mentioned something about finding a mentor for her powers. She's a fire elemental. I really hope she didn't just leave me…”

Max drops to all fours and begins rummaging around the ground as she listens, “Who mentor?”

“I don't know. I'm pretty sure it was someone in Arcadia Bay but the only other elemental close to here is her mum and she would have told me she was going to Portland. Plus I already asked Sera and she said she hasn't seen Rachel. She's been looking as much as I have.”

Max finds what she is looking for. She picks up a branch from the ground into her maw and trots back to Chloe. Chloe raises an eyebrow.

“Need to burn energy. To turn back.” Then Max drops the stick in front of Chloe.

Chloe giggles but picks up the stick. She tests its weight.

“Keep talking.” Max says as Chloe winds her arm back.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Chloe rolls her eyes and throws the stick. Max moves before it even soars over her head. She easily extends herself to be on two legs and catches the stick midair then she turns around and returns it to Chloe’s feet.

Chloe picks it back up and tosses it again as she speaks, “I...can you track people, Maxi?”

Max drops the stick in Chloe’s outstretched hand this time, “I can.”

Chloe throws the stick again, “I have a bracelet she gave me. Will that help?”

Max hands her the stick this time with her paw, “Yes.”

Chloe throws it again, “How many times do I have to do this?”

Max shrugs as she hands the stick to Chloe again.

Chloe throws it again, “Helpful, Maxi.”

They play fetch in silence for a few minutes. Max was calming down now. She could block out Chloe’s scent now which was helping a lot. When she returns to Chloe she drops the stick in the dirt.

“I'm better now. Grab my clothes?”

Chloe nods and once Chloe turns away Max begins to shift back. The process is slow as the beast grumbles wanting out for longer.

_ You can be out for as long as you want tonight. _

The beast purrs at that, telling Max she had better keep her promise. Which she did intended on doing. The beast was apart of her and fighting it would only end badly for her.

She turns so her back is to Chloe. Five years of being a wolf and nudity no longer really bothered her. It had taken all these years to get use to it but she was pretty sure flashing Chloe her chest wouldn't really be seen as “normal,” especially with the way she reacted to Frank.

“Please hand me by bra first, Chloe.”

There is a long moment of silence. Max frowns down at the ground. She wraps her arms around her chest to cover herself as she looks over her shoulder at Chloe who stares at her back. Her eyes wide.

“That...that's what he did?”

Max sighs. Chloe was staring at the three large scars that cut across the entirety of her back, “Yeah. The bite wound fully healed, the one that turned me, but these stayed.”

Chloe looks up to lock eyes with Max. They hold so much worry and sorrow, “I'm sorry that happened to you…”

Max pulls her gaze away from Chloe, “I'm getting by. Can I have my bra please, Chlo?”

Chloe passes it to her. She puts its on with her back to Chloe then turns to take her shirt from Chloe’s arms. She pulls that on, then her jeans.

“So. How the hell does that underwear work?”

“It shifts with me,” Max says as she buttons up her jeans, “You can't believe how hard it was to find these online on a site run by supernaturals.”

“Why'd you have to buy them from a site run by supernaturals?”

Max straightens out her shirt, “Because. Mortals could sell my information to a bunch of Hunters if they truly believed I was a wolf.”

“Has that-” Chloe fidgets, “-happened before?”

“To a packmate of mine it did.”

Max then heads toward the truck and opens the passenger door and climbs inside. Chloe follows suit by climbing into the driver side, “Can I ask what happened?”

Max leans back into the seat, “His apartment got raided but luckily he was attending a group meeting. He had to move and go into hiding after that, however.”

Chloe starts the truck, “Also what the hell did you and Frank do?”

“He made me his alpha. We printed. It's an instinct thing among wolves. His other packmates will more in likely come to me to do the same during this week.”

“Is that like a good thing?” Chloe pulls away from the side of the road and continues driving up the ridge.

“Yes. Having a pack makes me safer from Hunters and having some muscle doesn't hurt.”

“So do you print or whatever on none wolves to make them apart of your pack?”

“I have. A lot of supernaturals that were apart of the support group were down for it. Others not so much but that didn't make them any less apart of the pack. When wolves print it makes it easier for us to find our packmates if, lets say one is in trouble. If I've printed on them it's easy to tell they are in trouble and where to find them.”

Chloe raps her fingers against the steering wheel as if she's in thought. Then she blurts out, “You consider me apart of your pack?”

“Of course I do.”

“Would you print on me?”

Max thinks about this for a moment, “Only if you wanted, but what brings this on?”

Chloe slows the truck as she comes to the top of the ridge. The lighthouse is in view now. Chloe parks the truck.

“Um, having you as backup would be nice. Especially if Nathan comes after my ass.”

Max frowns, “You think he'll come after you?”

“I don't know, Max. He waved a gun in my face and flashed fangs at me. I didn't expect either of those things.”

“But me printing?” Max can't help but sound nervous. Chloe’s mark wouldn't heal like hers. It would linger for days maybe even weeks and-

“Max.”

She locks eyes with Chloe, “Sorry. I just don't want you to regret it.”

“I won't. I'm your best friend and you're mine, dude. And having a mark to prove it sounds pretty dope.”

Max chuckles at that, “You're sure about this?”

“Hella sure.”

Max takes a deep breath, “It will hurt because I'm going to break skin.”

“Come on, Maxi. Stop stalling.”

Max sighs, “Lift your shirt to expose your side. I'll print there.”

Chloe does so with hardly any hesitation. Max moves to be before her. She slightly pulls Chloe’s waistband to the side and bares her teeth with a growl as she sinks them into the tender skin of Chloe’s hip. Chloe gasps above her and buries a hand in Max’s hair and squeezes.

Max releases Chloe’s side and licks at the wound. Her licks seal the wound and she gently places Chloe’s waistband back to cover the now red angry mark. 

Chloe lets go of her shirt and lets it fall back into place as she squirms in her seat, “Wow, that felt weird.”

“Now you have to draw blood from me.” Max offers her wrist to Chloe who looks down at it.

“I have to-”

“You aren't going to hurt me. If you don't want to bite my wrist, you can bite my shoulder.”

“W-wrist is fine.” Chloe takes Max's wrist into her hand and stares down at it.

Max gives a grunt. Chloe looks up then back down and takes a deep breath. She then raises Max’s wrist up to her mouth. She presses her teeth to skin then slowly presses down. Chloe squeezes her eyes shut as she bites Max, hard, and draws blood. Max just watches. She feels how Chloe breaks the skin but there is no pain beyond that.

Then Chloe pulls away and sticks out her tongue with a disgusted look, “Ugh. It tastes like you swallowed a bunch of metal.”

Max licks her wound close and watches Chloe wipe her mouth off on the back of her hand.

“And it tastes like you drink and smoke too much.”

Chloe shrugs, “Okay. Fair.”

It takes time to set in. For Frank it had gone straight into effect. Even now she could tell he was still on the beach. But with Chloe it slowly settles in. When it does Chloe’s scent lessens and her emotions become easier to read. In a sense it was like opening your eyes for the first time. Chloe wouldn’t get as strong as a reaction but she would be able to get a hint of Max’s emotions and what she was feeling at the moment. Max watches Chloe closely as the blue haired girl leans back against the driver side door as she takes Max in. Max cocks her head to side as Chloe locks eyes with her.

“Woah, Max…”

Max then tilts her head the other direction and releases a gruff from her throat, “What?”

“You’re eyes just changed.”

Max huffs at that, “Hopefully no one is at the lighthouse. I can’t change them back without triggering a full shift.”

“So why do your eyes change anyways?”

Max shrugs, “A lot of things trigger it. But mostly the beast wants out for longer. The full moon is fucking with me big time.”

Chloe snorts at that as she moves to exit the cab. Max follows as Chloe speaks, “And here I thought you were always a horny teenage wolf.”

Max chuckles at that as Chloe leads the way up the path to the lighthouse. It looms over them as they get closer. Chloe leads the way to a wooden bench that sits on the cliff’s edge. She plops down and Max follows. She looks over Arcadia Bay. She hadn’t been to this spot since Chloe and her would play pirates.

“Wowser…”

Chloe smirks, “Just as pretty as you remember?”

Max looks over the cresting waves to the small sleepy town that rest against the coast, “I have to say, I appreciate this view a lot more now that I’m older.”

“Also because you’re a photo nerd?” Chloe teases as she bumps shoulders with Max.

Max leans into her with a giggle, “That too, I guess.”

They delve into silence, leaning into each other's warmth.

Max had never thought in a million years this was how this day was going to go. It went so smoothly, so seamless and even though she would have to watch Nathan tonight, who more likely say her as a threat, it was all worth it. She got to reconnect with Chloe. They really were best friends again. Max had always feared the worst. That Chloe would shun her for the fact she was a wolf or because they hadn't talked in five years. Maybe even both.

Instead they were best friends again and Max knew Chloe had never stopped loving her like she had never stopped loving Chloe. They had done a lot of catching up but the five years they didn't talk...Max knew they should probably talk about that.

“Um...Chloe?”

Chloe peers at her, raising an eyebrow as she looks over Max’s face, “What's up, Maxiwolf?”

_ That's a really cute nickname _ .

But she fights back the smile that threatens to spill over as she takes a deep breath, “I really am sorry I didn't-”

Chloe sits up. She places her hands on Max’s shoulder and squeezes which as her closing her mouth and staring at Chloe.

“Dude, chill. I understand now and I know that you didn't stop thinking about me. Maybe I should have tried reaching out more, too. Maybe that could have mattered, but it doesn't now. We're back. Max and Chloe are back,” Chloe grins and Max can't help but giggle, “We're bigger than ever now. I'm a badass. You're a badass. No one can stop us now.”

Max hugs Chloe. Squeezes her tightly and trying to hold back happy tears. 

Chloe squeezes back, “We'll show Arcadia Bay what it's been missing these past five years. And Rachel will fucking love you. I hope you like her too.”

Max giggles, “It seems you love her a lot. Of course I'll like her.”

Even if the beast grumbles at that, Max wasn't lying. If Chloe was happy, she was happy.

Chloe grins brightly and pulls to stand up as she proclaims, “Then as newly reinstated first mate, Long Max Silver, your captain decrees we rendezvous with my fair maiden Rachel and then tear up Arcadia Bay with our awesomeness.”

_ I missed Chloe so much. _

She grins just as widely as Chloe as she looks up at her captain. An adventure with Chloe after so long was more than Max could ask for.

She salutes Chloe and speaks in her best pirate accent, “Aye, aye, Captain Bluebeard.”

Chloe bends down and takes Max’s hands into hers as she beams, “Amazeballs.”

Max squeezes her hands as she giggles, “You still say that?”

“Says the one who still says ‘wowser.’” Chloe teases.

Max shrugs and stands when Chloe pulls her up and leads her to the cliff’s edge as they look over the whole of the sleepy town of Arcadia Bay. Max had missed this place. Seattle was huge and full of people. It was always busy. Arcadia Bay had also always felt like home. That was likely because of Chloe, but Max liked the redneck outdoorsy feel of the small fishing town.

Chloe wraps an arm around Max’s shoulders and stares off into the waves as she asks softly, “You’re here for good...right, Max?”

Max peers up at Chloe who meets her gaze. Max can feel the fear and uncertainty waft from Chloe as well as show in her worried gaze.

Max then offers a smile. She didn’t know what the future would hold for them but she did now that she was here for good, “I am. As long as you’ll have me for.”

Chloe’s grin returns, “Forever is a long time, first mate.”

“But it’s the perfect amount of time to get to spend with you, captain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.s. I wrote some smut of Chloe and Max that takes place once they return to the truck after talking to Frank. If y'all want to read it I can post it as a bonus after getting through Monday or maybe for the holiday season. No matter, I'll prob end up posting it anyways. But let me know!


	3. Vamp Sitting With A Side Of Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Chloe catch up.
> 
> But tonight's the full moon and Max has a vamp to watch.
> 
> With a little help from Kate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy!
> 
> Thanks so much for all the comments peeps! Every one of them are so lovely and I'm so happy to see y'all enjoy this as much as I do writing it. So here's an extra long chapter!
> 
> Thanks for reading and have a lovely day all! :D <3

Max spent most of the rest of the day with Chloe driving around in her truck, laughing, and swapping stories about things that happened over the last five years. Easily they had caught each other up. Max knew all about Rachel and even if the beast grumbled the whole time Chloe gushed about her girlfriend, Max wear a smile and listened intently. Max also learned about all the trouble Chloe had gotten up to.

It had started with a story where Chloe had snuck into a showing of Firewalk, a supernatural band that used their abilities to enhance their music. This was also where Chloe had run into Rachel. The two ran with different crowds at school but in the mosh pit they were equals. 

Chloe reminisced about the couple of days the two had really gotten to know each other. How they had performed in The Tempest, and kissed under a street lamp while ash fell around them, courtesy of a fire Rachel had started. Chloe told all the ups and downs.

How Rachel had found out she was a fire elemental.

How the two had hunt down Sera, Rachel’s bio mother, and battled with Damon, a crazed alpha who Frank had ended up killing.

It was a crazy story to hear on their first day reuniting, but Max was happy to listen. Happy to hear all about Chloe’s life and what she had been up to.

Chloe then went on to talk about when she had gotten her tattoo, how her and Rachel had fallen in love, and planned to run away from the “shitpit that was Arcadia Bay,” Chloe’s words, not Max’s, and all the adventures she and Rachel had gotten up to. Max, while a little jealous, felt honored Chloe trusted her with all this.

It made telling her story a lot easier. Chloe held so much trust in her. So much trust that she knew she could also hold in Chloe.

She started with a recap of her turning. How scared she had been. How scared her parents had been. How freaked out the paramedics were who had arrived to the scene. Max had appeared to be on death’s doorstep when all of a sudden her wounds had healed and everything was more vibrant. Sounds easier to zero in on. Colors brighter and the world was more defined.

Then Max told Chloe about her first full moon.

Her parents are locked her in her room hoping that would keep her at bay. She had torn straight through the wall and window of her bedroom and jumped down two stories and disappeared off to the park she had been turned at. 

There was a bit Max left out. Such as how wonderful her first kill had felt. The rabbit she had chased for hours, toying with it, before devouring it in one solid crunch and gulp when she had gotten tired of the chase. She figured that would have scared Chloe. It still scared her to think about.

Then Max talked about her second full moon. How she had sneaked out of the house, this time, and returned to the park again where she ran into the wolf who turned her.

“No shit. What happened?” Chloe asks as she turns to look at Max.

They sat in the bed of the truck parked in a parking lot that overlooked the docks. The sea was calm and free of boats as it was getting dark outside.

Max tips her head back and stares up at the cloud free sky, “He was happy to see me...”

_ “Pup. You return to me.” _

_ She turned to face the dark brown furred wolf. His teeth glinted in the moonlight as he grinned. She stays low and lets out a snarl as he slowly makes his way toward her. _

_ He was large. Larger than many of the werewolves she had seen pictures and videos of during her research. But as she inspects him, she realizes how much bigger she was compared to him. She was at least a foot taller and was much more built than him. Her shoulders broader and body much bulkier. _

_ “Stay back.” She growls. _

“So like…” Chloe begins, tapping her chin in thought, “What did he see in you?”

Max sighs at that and closes her eyes as she concentrates on the memory, “He wanted to build an army.”

_ “You'll make such a lovely soldier,” He boasts as he stalks closer, that grin becoming predatory. _

_ “Why did you do this to me?” She gruffs out. It was hard to talk like this without her throat hurting and her words not just turning into growls. She couldn't understand how he could speak so naturally. _

_ “Because. You have so much raw strength in you. So much potential to be great. To be powerful. To make the mortals bow to you.” _

_ She backpeddlers as he moves closer, “Why me?” _

_ “Because you were chosen.” _

Chloe’s eyebrows come together at that as she makes a face of confusion, “What the hell did he mean by that?”

“We wolves live by our instincts. The beast tells us what is a good choice and what is a bad choice. Some follow it to the T. It's like living by a code. The beast tells us who will make a powerful wolf and packmate. Some completely believe this like he did.”

“What about you?”

Max looks over at Chloe to find her also staring up at the cloudless sky, “I don't always listen to the beast. If I did, I would have torn David a new one. Literally.”

_ And I would have made you my mate as soon as I saw you. _

Max hurriedly pushes that thought away and looks away from Chloe to hide the redness that appears in her cheeks as Chloe chuckles.

“Damn. At least I'm not the only one who sees him as a massive douche.”

Max laughs along with Chloe to help forget her previous thought, “Where was I?”

“Chosen one.”

“Right,” Max stretches before continuing, “He then tried to force me to print.”

_ “Bare your neck to me.” He commands in a snarl. _

_ But Max continues to back away, ready to strike if he came any closer, “No.” _

_ “Do as I say, pup.” _

_ “Fuck off.” She growls. _

_ He growls back. She could smell the frustration permeate off of him as he bends close and barks, “Obey.” _

“What an entitled prick,” Chloe says with a huff, “I hope you taught him a lesson.”

Max tips her head back and sighs, “I guess you could say I did.”

There is a moment of silence before Chloe turns to face Max again. It seems she caught on to the somber tone, “...What did you do?”

_ The beast hated this. She could feel it knocking around in an attempt to escape. Max wanted that too. So she listened to the beast. Followed its lead. _

_ When he bent down to grab her she rose to her full height and lunged toward him with a roar. One that made any wild animals in the area flee as he released his own sound of surprise as her claws met his skin followed by her teeth sinking into his throat. Her jaw clamps down then tears through flesh. _

_ He had no chance against her. She may have been newly turned two months ago, but she still overpowered him with ease. He had been right about her being powerful. It was more power than a thirteen year old should have. _

“I killed him,” Max then rubs her face, “I hadn't meant to. But that's what happened when I followed the beast.”

Chloe wraps an arm around Max and holds her close. Max leans into the affection.

“Damn, Maxi...”

Max just snuggles into Chloe’s side. The warmth helped keep her calm. It had been a long time since she had talked about that but it didn't bother her anymore. It had stopped bothering her after she realized that was just the world she lived in.

“Tell me again how you got kicked out of Blackwell.”

Chloe hums in thought, “Well, my attendance hadn't been the best as is, and Wells didn't like me skipping with the golden child.”

With that they get wrapped up in light hearted stories again. Chloe told the story of how her and Rachel had rode a train all the way to American Rust, a junkyard the two had called home away from hell. It was also the same place Chloe had gotten her truck from.

Max talked about her pack from Seattle. How she had met each packmate and how she became the packleader.

“Did you have to, like, dual the current alpha?” Chloe asks as she pulled out of the parking lot and began driving back to Blackwell.

“I did. He declared the dual a few weeks after I had joined the group since most of the wolves had started listening to me more than him.”

“It wasn't…?”

Max fiddles with the radio as Chloe trails off, “No, it wasn't to the death. We basically wrestled. Pin your opponent so they can't get up and you win. Blood was drawn only because his beast didn't want to give up but it was all good. He still keeps in touch. You'd like Fernando.”

“Oh yeah?” 

Max doesn't even have to look at Chloe to know she's smirking. She rolls her eyes, “Yeah, him and his girlfriend, Kirsten, helped me through some rough patches.”

“She apart of the group, too, or you play homewrecker?”

“Chloe!”

“What!” Chloe starts laughing at Max’s reaction, “It was just a question!”

“She was. And she was a demon. She would have torn my throat out if I'd even  _ looked _ at Fernando like that.”

_ Not that I even did. Though, her and I did have a thing for awhile. Fernando was pretty chill about that even if I was his alpha. _ But Max decides to keep that to herself for now.

“You know a  _ demon _ ? Aren't they like really dangerous?”

Max snorts at that, “Not at all. Only if you get on their bad side but that can be said about everyone.”

Chloe taps the steering wheel in thought, “Huh. I guess you have a point.”

“Kirsten is pretty cool. She always wore a bunch of charms and stuff to keep her powers locked away so she wouldn't scare the normies, but-”

Chloe chuckles, “Normies.”

“Shush. But when it was just the pack she would sometimes show off her horns and teach us about what runes she knew. It was really cool,” Then Max looks over to Chloe who focuses on the road, “But of course they could never match up to your awesomeness.”

Chloe grins brightly at that, “Such a flatter you are, Mad Max.”

Max shrugs, “I try, Chlo.”

They continue sharing stories about friends they made over the years. Max was happy to hear that Chloe had a good group of friends that included Frank and his pack. A pack that would become Max’s pack, which was a detail Chloe couldn't get over.

It was cute to Max to see how excited she was that Max was a werewolf. She was a lot more excited than Max had ever been and it honestly made her feel special. Rachel was a very lucky woman to have Chloe. And the beast makes a promise that it would make her disappear again if she  _ ever _ hurt a hair on Chloe’s head.

They pull into Blackwell’s parking lot at about 7:30. The sun had begun to set a few minutes ago. The surrounding area is bathed in a golden light. A time Max knew as the Golden Hour. It was another sure sign that nightfall was moments away. Max could feel the beast itch to be let out.

Chloe leans back in the driver's seat and gives a sigh, “Damn. I don't want today to end.”

_ Me neither. _ Max muses then the beast purrs as a thought pops into her head.

“We could have a sleepover.”

Chloe perks her head up at that, having been in the middle of lightly a cigarette. Max can sense a slight tingle of skepticism, like Chloe thought the offer was too good to be true. But her voice fails to hide her excitement, “Really?”

“Really. But there is somewhat of a catch.”

Chloe’s eyes trace Max’s face when she asks hesitantly, “...And what's that?”

“Tonight’s the full moon so once it strikes nightfall I need to leave the dorms and go into the woods.”

“Can I come with?”

Max runs a hand through her hair that felt more frizzled than usual, “Sadly, no. Um, what happened before we ran into Frank...could happen again and I don't think I could stop it.”

Chloe blows smoke out the window she unrolls by hand before looking back to Max, “Okay, Maxiwolf. I'll stay inside. Which is boring, might I add.”

“I'll be back before you know it.” Max grins, flashing her canines that Chloe just rolls her eyes at.

After Chloe finishes her smoke and rolls the window up, the two exit the vehicle. Max leads the way to the dorms, still talking animatedly about her Seattle packmates with Chloe. As they past the Topanga, Max remembers she hasn't said anything to Chloe about Nathan being with her during the full moon.

_ I'll tell her afterward. Don't want her to worry. _

They enter the dorms as Chloe talks about her favorite member apart of Frank's pack, Rodney, and how he had been helping her and Sera hunt for Rachel. However Max can hear in Chloe's voice that she knows Rodney is just being nice.

“The dude’s a big fuzz ball but I know he's probably given up on Rach like her dad has.” Chloe huffs at that.

Max leads the way down the hallway, “Rachel’s dad isn’t looking for her?”

Chloe crosses her arms with a scowl as she looks away from Max to show she isn’t directing her anger toward Max. Even if she had kept her gaze on Max, she would have known Chloe’s anger was elsewhere, “He never really even tried looking for her, even though he had to power to. Rose left his ass because of that.”

“Rose?” Max inquires as she peers at Chloe over her shoulder.

“Rachel’s stepmom. She’s a sweet woman. She always did care a lot about Rachel. She moved to Portland and has been providing a place for Sera to stay.”

Max opens the door to her room. Her and Chloe then enter. Chloe immediately hops onto Max’s bed and sprawls out. Then her attention turns to the many photos sprawled out upon the wall above Max’s bed. They covered about a quarter of the wall, spaced evenly even while there were some blank spaces. Max closes the door and sets her things on the couch as she begins to lay things out for tonight. She had about an hour to get ready before she had to meet Nathan.

“Where did you take this one?” Chloe asks.

Max turns away from the clothes she drapes over the couch cushions to eye Chloe who lays on her stomach and looks over the photos. She has her finger at the top of a photo of a girl hanging out of a tree with a werewolf mask on. The photo included a man laughing as he was clutching his gut and laying at the bottom of the tree.

Max smiles as the memory slowly floods in, “That was during last year’s Halloween. The October full moon was after Halloween so we decided we would go to Fernando’s family lodge a day early to celebrate Halloween. We were on the outskirts of Seattle.”

Chloe rolls over to lay on her back as she stares up at the ceiling, folding her arms behind her head as she does so, “Your photos are really amazing, Max.”

She chuckles. She had never thought so but it was nice to hear so from Chloe, because she knew Chloe would tell her if they were awful. It meant a lot to hear that that wasn’t the case, “Thanks, Chlo.”

“So what you doing?”

Max removes her sweatshirt and sets it to the side, “Setting up clothes in case I need something to change into when I return.”

“You know, I heard when vampires change they don’t destroy their clothes. Could like a wolf train so they shift with their clothes?”

Max had asked the same question to Jefferson a few weeks ago, “They can’t. Vamps change how they appear to others rather than really changing what they are. Wolves physically change.”

“That’s a pain.”

Max chuckles and turns to face Chloe after she finishes setting things to the side, “It is. So. We got an hour before nightfall, what you want to do?”

“How about we just watch a movie and chill.”

Max strides over to her desk and picks up her computer after removing Dana’s note and sticking it to the top of the desk. Then she returns to Chloe with laptop in hand, “Scoot your boot.”

Chloe bursts in a fit of giggles at that but moves to the side and sits up. She leans against Max’s photo wall who joins her on the bed and sits criss crossed next to Chloe. Then she sets up the computer to lay across both of their laps as she opens it.

“What you want to watch?”

“ _ Teen Wolf _ ?”

Max raises an eyebrow and tips her head toward Chloe.

Chloe chuckles, “No?  _ An American Werewolf in London _ ?”

“Chloe.” Max giggles as she starts up her laptop.

“ _ Skinwalkers _ ?”

Max makes a face, her nose wrinkling, “That movie was horrible. We aren’t just a bunch of thrill seekers who fuck everything.”

Chloe snorts, “I mean, yeah. That movie was pretty bad.”

“Gonna name another horrible werewolf movie?”

“Hey.  _ Teen Wolf _ was pretty funny.”

“And horribly inaccurate.”

Chloe shrugs, “It was way better than  _ Ginger Snaps _ .”

“Oh God, don’t even get me started on that one.”

“The first one was at least better than  _ Ginger Snaps Back _ .”

“There was a second one?”

“Hell yeah there was a second one. It was like the lore behind what happened in the first movie.”

“That sounds so cheesy.”

“It was for sure.”

Max leans back against the wall as she looks through movies after starting up Netflix, “How do you know so many werewolf movies?”

Chloe smirks, “I’ve spent a lot of time with Frank and his pack. And you know, I am the neighborhood jokester.”

Max smiles at that.

_ I’m glad Chloe hasn’t changed that much. _

Chloe moves the laptop into her lap and begins looking through movies on Netflix, “So,  _ Teen Wolf  _ it is?”

Max laughs. She really had missed Chloe. And no matter how many times she thought that, didn’t make the statement any less true. If anything it reminded her of how much she would give to keep Chloe in her life now.

“ _ Teen Wolf _ it is, then.” Max echoes as she leans into Chloe who clicks on the movie and returns the laptop to the spot it had been at before she took it.

Then they watch  _ Teen Wolf _ . Making jokes here and there. Chloe asks her a few times how it compares to being a real werewolf and Max answers, giving her experiences. It was like being kids again which Max had never fully realized how much she had missed. Since she had been bit, her childhood faded fast. Her life was no longer about getting through school and gossiping harmlessly with friends. It turned into worrying about hurting said friends. Not that she had any really before joining her Seattle pack. But losing control was so easy to do in the early days of being a wolf. Her emotions and others could trigger shifts with so much as a single poke at the wrong thing.

Now, she had a strong control over shifts and when they would occur. Except for during full moons.

About halfway through the movie, Max felt the beast stir and her eyes were directed to outside. 

High in the sky above the treeline hung the full moon.

“Chloe?”

Chloe looks at her as she calms her laughter at a scene in the movie, “What’s up?”

“I have to go.”

Max watches something pass over Chloe’s face. The smile that was playing on her lips fades as she locks eyes with Max, “Oh. You’ll...um-”

“I’ll be back,” Max says in a gruff as she forces back the shift, “Feel free to watch whatever. I need to go run around.”

“...Okay...Okay.” Chloe says as she sighs then sets Max’s computer to the side so Max can stand.

Max removes her shoes and socks before moving to the door. She pauses and turns to smile to Chloe, “I will be back.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. You’re stuck with me forever, remember?”

That makes Chloe grin, “Yeah. Go run around, dude. I’ll be here.”

Max keeps a hand on the door handle as she eyes Chloe as something comes to mind, “Would you be up for midnight tea?”

Chloe gives a confused look, “Midnight tea?”

“With Kate. She lives on this floor too and she doesn’t get much sleep.”

Chloe shrugs, “Sure.”

The beast growls at her to get moving or let it out now.

_ No more stalling.  _

“I gotta go. See ya.”

“Peace.”

Then Max leaves. With purpose she strides down the corridor. Her eyes glance over Kate’s door and she takes the time stop at Kate’s slate and erase the hurtful phrase on it before writing her own message.

_ Midnight tea? -Max _

Max leaves the building. She’d tell Kate she was a werewolf tonight. Hopefully it wouldn’t be much of a surprise. She’d been dropping hints for a while but Kate did have a lot on her plate as of late.

_ Damn Vortex Club and their bullshit. Ugh, and I’ll be spending the full moon with one of them. _

She grumbles to herself as she exits the building and makes her way toward the Topanga. For a moment she thinks Nathan hasn’t arrived yet till she spots a bat perched at the top of the totem pole. It’s fur a light brown. She feels him glare at her as she steps closer. The large eared bat keeps his red eyes trained on her. She’s pretty sure he was a Townsend, and she did think he looked cute despite who she knew the bat was.

“Nathan.” She growls up at him.

He continues to glare.

She huffs out of her nose, “Jefferson sent me.”

“No shit,” He replies in a squeaky voice that sounded so unlike him, “Of course you’re my full moon mentor.”

“If I wasn’t, I would have killed you in that bathroom.”

He rolls his eyes at her, “As if.”

She crosses her arms, eyes narrowed, “Jefferson might be your sire, but I’ve heard bat tastes pretty good.”

“Fuck you, mutt.”

_ This is going to be a long night. _

“Whatever. Meet me in the woods in a few minutes. I need to change.”

“Oh? Do I get to watch? Might as well get a good show out of this.”

That smug tone almost makes Max jump up there and grab a hold of Nathan by his little neck and shake him around. She bends her legs ready to do so when she thinks better of it and growls up at him instead, “Do whatever you want, Nathan.”

“It makes it less fun if you want it.”

“You’re so gross.”

He shrugs as she turns and stalks off into the woods. Once far away enough from the treeline and behind a tree, Max begins to strip, folding her clothes neatly and setting them at the base of the tree till all she stands in are just her boxers. Then she shifts. The change is slow in the light of the full moon but it makes her feel strong, unstoppable even. She stands on her hindlegs, standing tall in the small clearing as she tips her head back and lets loose a deep, long howl toward the moon.

She relaxes after her howl and spots two red pin pricks staring down at her from a tree across from the one where her clothes lay. 

Nathan crotches upon a tree limb in his human form. She can see his glare. The way his lips angle downward, “What makes a nerd like you an alpha anyways?”

“Wish I knew,” Max replies as she makes her way to stand before the tree he is perched in, “Now, both of us are full of energy from the moon. Have any questions about that?”

He taps his chin in thought, the mocking tone she just knows will follow starts, “Well, for starters, how many times did you have to suck Jefferson’s dick to get a favor out of-”

She slams into the tree. It shakes from the force that she puts into ramming her shoulder into it.

“Fuck!”

Nathan pitches backward and tumbles out of the tree, hitting a few branches on the way down till he lands in a pile of leaves with an “oof.” She stands over him, glaring down at him with a sneer; a growl bubbles in her throat. His chestnut locks are full of twigs and leaves now. He spits out a leaf as he returns her glare.

“I have a few rules,” She begins in a deep growl as she leans down, her muzzle inches from his face. His fear fills her nostrils and it makes her smirk, “First, keep your backtalk for your sire. Second, I’m not your babysitter. If you start fights with any other supernaturals out here with us, they are  _ your _ problem, not mine. Third, you will listen to me. I might not be your vamp daddy, but I am much more seasoned with the full moon and what is in these woods.”

They stare at each other for a long moment before Nathan breaks eye contact first, “You know what? Fine. Fine! Now, get the hell out of my face.”

She stands straight and takes a step back from him as he stands and brushes himself off, pulling twigs and leaves off him and ruffling his hair to clean it.

“Good,” She gruffs, “We’re going to be playing a game of tag. I’m giving you a five second head start.”

He looks up at her with a scowl, “What are we kids?”

“One.”

“Whateverthefuck. Catch me if you can, bitch.”

He shoots upward back into the tree she knocked him out of and watches as he jumps from tree to tree.

_ Two. _

She counts to herself now as her eyes track his movement as he moves deeper into the woods.

_ Three. _

She spots him turn, making his way to circle back as if he thought that would throw her off his trail.

_ Four. _

She didn’t like Nathan much but this could be fun. A good chase never hurt anyone.

_ Five. Here I come, buck tooth. _

And she takes off, running full sprint on all fours as she races off toward where she can see him heading toward. He hops from tree to tree close to the tree line as he stays in the thick of the woods. Leaves get brought into the air as she runs, locking onto his scent as she keeps some distance between them. But she spots him with ease, watching his red letterman jacket flow behind him as he hops into tree after tree. She soon runs beside him and darts to be running ahead of him as she watches him prepare to turn.

_ Got you. _

Just as he takes off into the air to hop into a tree to the left of them, she springs into the air, catching him in the middle as her teeth clamp into the back of his jacket. She lands back onto the ground on her hindlegs as Nathan dangles from her jaw. He squirms and thrashes. Then she gives a shake of her head, flinging him about before she spits him out. He lands on his back on the ground. Then she pins him to the floor by the top of his chest with a paw sprawled across his pecks.

With a large, toothy grin she bends to growl, “Tag, you’re it.”

Then she takes off on all fours again chuckling, the sound rumbling in her chest as she runs and as she hears him swear then take off after her. They run deep into the woods as she leads the chase with Nathan hot on her heels. She darts right and the tree she had just barely dodged shakes as Nathan had run straight into it. She doubles back to bark at him in a taunting way as she watches him shake himself off and rub his forehead. 

Then they are off again. He doesn’t fall for the tree trick twice as she zig zags through the woods like she knew the place like the back of her paw. He does surprise her by coming down on top of her from a tree. He lands on her back and taps the top of her head as he shouts, “Tag!”

Then he uses her as a spring board and launches back into the trees and takes off into the direction they were coming from. She slides to a halt and turns around to follow him. Even though it was with Nathan, she was having a crazy amount of fun. The last full moon she had been stuck with playing tag with raccoons and a fox. That wasn’t as fun as they did never chase her back. But Nathan’s laughs as he evades her attempt at catching him, fuel the beast with a sense of childlike glee she hadn’t felt since her first full moon with her Seattle pack.

They chase each other a few more times, trading places of being prey and predator before they return to the tree it all began at.

Nathan slumps against the tree’s trunk as his red eyes fade back to pale blue. She stands tall, tail swishing as she watches him pant and collect himself, “Damn, Caulfield. That was actually pretty fun.”

“It was.”

He runs a hand through his hair and sighs once he closes his eyes and tips his head back, “I had you all wrong.”

She tilts her head at him, “How’s that?”

“You so could have eaten me in that bathroom and I bet my sire couldn’t have done anything about it.”

She watches him, waiting for some sort of punchline but the sincerity in his voice rings clear, “Jefferson would have been pissed.”

Nathan shrugs, “Maybe. The point is, you’re a scary predator.”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.” He says as he stands and brushes himself off. His eyes flash back to red as he smirks, fangs showing as he does so, “Up for another round?”

She stretches, cracking her neck as her tail wags no longer able to hide her excitement, “Hell yeah. Let’s change up the rules a-”

_ You’re not alone _ . The beast warns.

Nathan gives her a quizzical look when she stops talking and starts to sniff the air as her ears flick about. A growl bubbles in her throat as she tries to locate the creature near them.

Nathan raises both eyebrows, “Okay. What crawled up your ass and-”

A large light brown furred werewolf bursts into the clearing with a roar, all teeth and claws as it dives for Nathan who screams out of surprise. Max acts fast. She is there in the blink of an eye, slamming into the wolf diving at Nathan, sending them tumbling into the grass and slamming head long into a tree. She stands tall as she backs up, forcing Nathan behind her as she corrals him so his back is against a tree and she stands before him and the wolf that picks itself up with a whine.

She smells them now as two more wolves step out from the brush. One checks on the other as the third bends low and growls at her. She returns the growl as she keeps a paw on Nathan, keeping him behind her.

The third werewolf, a little larger than the others, with dark brown fur stalks toward her, “You’re the alpha Frank spoke of?” He growls out. His voice scratchy as it was clear he didn’t have a lot of practice speaking like this.

“We printed, yes.” She answers.

The two other wolves move to stand beside him, one on either side, as they look her over. The one she had slammed into has a noticeable limp as he snarls at her. The other, a red haired wolf, just watches. She takes note that all wolves present are male presenting.

“You do seem strong.” The red haired wolf remarks.

“But you’re protecting a bat.” The brown haired wolf she slammed into snarls.

“So what?” She snarls back.

The middle wolf barks at the brown haired wolf who stops snarling and huffs out of his nose. Then he turns his attention back to her, “Frank said friend of Chloe’s?”

“I am.”

The middle wolf and red haired wolf exchange glances.

“If Chloe trusts him, I do too.” The middle one remarks.

“Agreed.” The red haired one nods.

“I want to challenge.” The brown haired wolf growls.

The red haired wolf shakes his head and steps closer to her, baring his neck. She watches closely as he stops a few feet from her.

“I want a name first before printing.” Max states.

“Liam.” The red haired wolf barks out.

“Max.” She replies as she steps from Nathan slightly to bite into Liam’s shoulder. Once she pulls back he bites into her arm that she offers up.

Then the dark brown furred wolf steps forward and bares his neck when Liam steps to the side, “Rodney.”

_ Chloe mentioned him. _

“Chlo has mentioned you.” Max comments before biting into his shoulder.

“Good things?” He gruffs out before biting into her arm.

“Yes. She values you all deeply.”

Rodney nods to that as he steps back. 

The final wolf looks over his comrades and growls, “You two trust him too easily.”

She turns back to eye Nathan who meets her gaze. She can sense his confusion and fear, “Nathan, return to the Topanga. I will meet you there after I am done here.”

“Sure thing. Peace out, mutts.” With that he turns into a bat and flies off.

She watches, as do the others.

“Is he apart of the pack?” Liam asks.

“No. I’m watching him for his sire.”

“Why?”

“The favor is nice to have under my belt.”

Rodney scoffs, “Vampires’ and their favors.”

She nods and looks back to the other wolf who stretches and bares his teeth at her.

“Name?”

“Earn it, Max.” He replies.

She snorts at that as Liam and Rodney step back to watch. Then the challenge begins. They start by circling each other. Max easily has a size advantage on him by about two and half feet. She is bigger than all three but she had always been larger than other wolves. Even other alphas she had met. Even without the size difference, her level of strength and speed would easily out match him regardless of size.

He is the first to make a move, diving toward her with claws bared and a snarl curling his upper lip. He goes straight for her throat and she wonders if he had the intention of killing her. If so, she decides it best to end this quickly. She moves to meet him halfway catching him by the throat with her paw, careful of her claws as she had no intention of killing or hurting him, as she brings him crashing down into the dirt, pinning him there by his throat. He whimpers under her and scratches at her arm at a last attempt to fight back. She bares her teeth and roars in his face. He stops scratching at that and submits to her as he falls limp in her hold.

She lets go and steps back, “Name.”

“Keith.”

“You are swift but thoughtless, Keith.”

He nods and stands then bares his neck that she sinks her teeth into then offers her uninjured arm that he bites. Then they separate. She eyes the arm he scratched up. The wounds had already healed over like the bites she received and gave. But her arm was coated in a thin layer of blood.

_ Great. Nathan’ll love this. _

She looks over her new pack members. Liam and Rodney’s printing had kicked in during her and Keith’s brawl. She could sense how ridiculous they thought Keith’s challenge was. Especially with how fast it ended.

“You are strong,” Keith comments and she could tell how embarrassed he felt, “You are so much stronger than Damon could have even wished to be.”

She gives a scoff at that, “If that’s all, I have a vampire to babysit.”

“Sure thing.” Liam says.

“Stay safe and away from the school grounds from now on.”

The three nod and she leaves them to return to the Tobanga. She takes her time to get there, mulling over the idea that she now had four wolf packmates. Which she did like. The bigger the pack, the more cover she had to hide behind if a Hunter decided to pop up to try and take her pelt. She hoped there weren’t any Hunters in Arcadia Bay given how small the town was. She’d also have to let Fernando know about her new pack and how suddenly it was coming together. She didn’t have any complaints though. They were all strong wolves. A bit brutish but the beast was happy with printing with them.

She nears the Topanga and slows to a trot as she feels her packmates leave Blackwell’s woods.

_ Good. Don’t want anyone to get turned by accident. _

She spots Nathan hiding behind the Topanga in his human form. He seems to be watching someone. She slowly approaches on all fours as she stays low to the ground. He then whips around and his eyes shoot to her arm that is still coated in blood. She spots the gleam in his red eyes. He was likely hungry from all the running they had done and it was a full moon.

But she ignores him as she peers around the Topanga to see who he was watching.

Kate sits on the bench closest to the Topanga, her back to them as she is bundled up in a thick winter coat with a fluffy hood. She has her head tipped back slightly as she stares up at the full moon that hangs overhead.

“Hey,” Nathan whispers as his full attention is now on Max, “you think I could...you know?”

She looks him over and huffs but offers her arm. He grabs it with both hands and bares his fangs before sinking them deep into her flesh and sucking. It felt weird as a strange tingle travels up her arm but it wasn’t that strange. She just hoped Jefferson gave out brownie points for feeding his fledglings.

He then pulls back and wipes his mouth clean on the back of his sleeve, “Damn. That shit is so rich. So much better than hers. Also thanks for the save back there. You could have let him tear me a new asshole but you didn’t.”

Most of that goes over her head as Max can’t help but get hung up on what he said about her blood. Max tilts her head at that, “Hers?”

He jabs a thumb over his shoulder as he dabs at the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, “Yeah. Bible thumper.”

Max stares at him.

“I was going to snack on her, again, but your blood is  _ so _ much better.”

The growl starts deep in her chest before bubbling up her throat to fuel a single word that is full of so much rage, “ _ What? _ ”

Nathan flinches as he looks her over. Her back is hunched now as her lips split into a growl, eyes narrowed. 

He slowly backs away from her, his fear thick in her senses but it just fuels the anger, “Um...Max?”

“You’ve  _ fed _ from  _ Kate _ ?” She follows his steps as the growl doesn’t leave her voice.

He looks terrified as he backs up, “Listen-”

The way he gets defensive and by the way she could taste his guilt in the air meant he had done more than just feed from Kate. The beast pieces it together for her.

_ The party. Nathan drugged Kate that night to take advantage of her! _

“ _ No _ .  _ You _ listen. How  _ dare _ you!”

Then there was no time for more talking as Max roars and lunges for him. Nathan squeaks and with wide eyes he dodges Max’s claws that slash into the back of the Topanga, leaving deep gashes in the wood, as he turns and takes off for the courtyard with Max hot on his heels. He jumps the railing as Kate turns to see what all the commotion is about. 

Her eyes grow wide as she watches Nathan Prescott scramble from out behind of the Topanga like his life depended on it and hops the railing. Behind him a large raven furred beast tears through the railing like it hadn’t even been there as it chases him, all snarls and rage filled roars. 

The two pass Kate, not paying her any mind as Nathan shouts, “Wait! Wait! Stop! I’ll explain-!”

Max pounces and lands on Nathan pinning him in the grass. He throws his arms up in a weak attempt to protect himself as she bares all her teeth at him, spit building up as she growls and opens her maws to strike.

He screams, “Max! No! Please!”

She roars again, ready to dish out the final death to him, but a voice behind her makes her pause.

“M-Max?”

She shuts her jaw as she peers over her shoulder at Kate who had stood from the bench a few feet from them. Her eyes are wide as she shakes in her slippers. The fear is so potent it makes Max feel guilty. Here she was about to tear Nathan’s throat out for what he did to Kate, only to scare Kate. A lot.

She moves a paw to pin Nathan in place by the throat so if he even dared to change into a bat there was no escape for him as she turns to face Kate more, careful to keep her body low as to not add more fear, “Hi, Kate.”

“T-this is why you take late night runs?” Her voice is shaky but isn’t accusatory. More curious than anything.

“It is. I was going to tell you myself tonight.”

“O-oh...” Kate shifts in place, moving her weight to one foot to the other as she watches Max nervously, “Um...why are you chasing Nathan?”

She looks down at the young vampire who’s shaking even more than Kate. She can smell tears. The beast huffs at the fact she made him cry and the fact she was just about to kill him. She had hoped mindless rage was way past her. But it seemed that was false. Then she looks back at Kate who seems to be calming down and eyes Nathan with worry. Worry that Max was seriously going to hurt him. Max and Kate had talked about that night. How she remembered that Nathan escorted her from the party. And even if Kate thought Nathan may have done something, she was still so caring.

_ Kate’s too pure for this fucked up world. _

The beast calms as it takes in the anxiousness that raises in Kate at the silence Max provides, and the caring look Kate holds in her eyes. She huffs out of her nose, “Nathan and I were playing tag.”

She felt bad for lying to Kate but this wasn’t a time she wanted to have that conversation. Not when the topic of it was present.

The confusion that crosses Kate’s features is brief but it stays in her voice, “Why?”

“I’m watching him for his sire.”

“Sire?”

“Daddy vamp.”

Kate blinks and looks at Nathan who returns the gaze but stays silent as he sniffs and tries to cover up the fact he had been crying by wiping his face on the back of his jacket sleeve hastily, “...Oh.”

“Sorry for the scare.” Max says to Kate, much calmer now as she looks to Nathan then lets him go. He scrambles to his feet and brushes himself off. He puts on a tough face trying to play off how scared he been of Max.

Kate offers a smile, “It’s quite alright. I was just...surprised is all.”

Nathan rolls his eyes and Max catches that and glares at him. He shrinks under her glare and crosses his arms and looks away.

“I’m not too surprised both of you are supernaturals, though.”

They both look at Kate now who still wears a soft smile. It fails to reach her eyes but Max knows she means it all the same.

Nathan huffs, “‘Course you’re not. What? It goes like ‘something, something, God’s will, something something, I suck face for Jesus.’”

Max turns and shoves Nathan back into the dirt and bends low as she snarls again.

“Max. You don’t need to push him.”

She looks back at Kate who wears a stern look.

She growls at Nathan again who covers his head and curls up into a ball.

“You’re scaring him, Max.”

She tries to keep the bite out of her voice as she looks back at Kate, “He was being rude.”

“I don’t care. You’re going to make him cry again.” Kate speaks with so much care, so much worry, for someone like Nathan.

Max throws her paws up into the air with a snarl, but takes a few steps away from Nathan as Kate steps toward them. She heads toward Nathan and bends down as she tentatively lays a hand on his back, “Are you alright, Nathan?”

“Don’t touch me.” He says weakly.

Kate removes her hand from his back. Max moves closer, pacing behind Kate as she keeps her eyes trained on Nathan. 

Kate looks to her, “Max, can you please give us some space.”

“He isn’t worth your time.” Max growls out.

Kate frowns at that but sighs and looks back to the vampire who’s rolled over to lay on his back as he stares up at the full moon with a blank stare.

“Are you alright?”

His gaze changes to Kate and he scans her briefly, “...Why do you even care?”

“There isn’t much of a reason not to.”

He rolls his eyes at that.

Kate stands and offers him a hand, “Max and I were going to have tea, would you like to join us?”

“Why would I want to join you and that bitch?”

Kate looks to Max, looking her over before looking back at Nathan, “I’m pretty sure Max is a male dog.”

Nathan looks up at Kate at that, surprised by her quip. Max chuckles. He huffs but takes Kate’s hand. She helps him stand then steps back as he dusts himself off again. She backs up straight into Max who steadies her with a paw on her shoulder. Kate stares at the furry appendage before looking up at her like a mouse who had been caught by a cat. Max removes her paw at that and gives Kate her space.

Nathan holds a glare as he looks Kate over, however it seems to lack the bite most of his normal glares would hold. It was like he didn’t mean it but still put it on his face to look tough. And Kate doesn’t seem even the tiny bit intimidated or phased by the half hearted glare, if anything her smile widens into being more friendly.

Nathan adverts his gaze at that and Max can smell guilt roll of him like he had just jumped into a vat of perfume. It makes Max’s snout wrinkle.

“You don’t seem the least bit bothered that both of us are monsters. Doesn’t the Bible, like, damn us or some shit?”

“The Bible isn’t always right, Nathan,” Kate states matter a factly, “And I knew Max was a werewolf for a while. She did drop a lot of hints.”

Max chuckles at that, “You got those?”

“Taking long runs at night. All the puns on dogs,” Kate gives a little giggle, “It took me a few days to really piece it together but you’ve been very rowdy all day and…” Kate looks up, “Tonight’s a full moon.”

Max beams at that. She had always known Kate was smart and letting a normie figure things out on their own did always run smoother than out right telling them she was a werewolf.

Nathan crosses his arms and gives a huff, “And neither of us don’t even scare you a little?”

“I never said that. I’ve just learned to never judge a book by its cover. Oh! I met Chloe. She seems very sweet and she might have given away that you were a werewolf too, Max.”

Max shrugs at that. That wasn’t that much of a surprise. Chloe had never been great at lying. Especially when she got caught red handed. 

“That’s alright. She mention tea?”

“She did. I invited her to join us.” Kate holds her friendly smile then looks back to Nathan, “The more the merrier.”

Nathan gives Kate a look as if he’s sizing her up and Max watches closely as his eyes flick up then down as he takes in Kate, and Max isn’t sure of what he is thinking. It makes her wary about his next move. Almost like she thought he would have a change of heart and decide death would be worth causing others pain. But instead he just sighs and rolls his eyes but Max tells the action is forced. He still smells so thickly of guilt. 

“Fine.”

Kate blinks for a moment as she takes in the single word than she smiles sweetly, “Alright,” Then she turns to look back to Max, “It isn’t quite midnight but you two are free to join me now.”

“We’ll meet you in a few.” Max says before Nathan can answer.

With that Kate nods and returns to the dorms as Max and Nathan return to the woods. Once they pass the treeline, Max right away grabs Nathan by the scruff of his jacket and lifts him off the ground. He squeaks and squirms as his eyes blow wide with panic and fear. 

Max then leans close, her lips splitting into a soft snarl as she speaks. She  _ needed  _ to make sure he understood this next part, “What you did to Kate was unforgivable and while we are having tea, you aren’t going to say  _ anything _ about it or the video. For a matter a fact, if you even dare to look at Kate and Chlo in the wrong way, I really will learn if bat tastes good. We understood?”

He nods rapidly as he claws at her paw and kicks his legs helplessly.

She shakes him as she bellows, “Are we understood?”

He nods faster, “We are! We are, Max!”

“Good. Now, I’m going to go change and we are going to go have tea.”

He falls to the ground and sits on his ass staring at his feet after she lets him go. Then Max makes her way to stalk past him. She normally wasn’t one to intidatemate unless it was to benefit her pack. Kate didn’t need to deal with Nathan’s bullshit and neither did Chloe after today. She had never thought that a vamp favor would lead to this. At least it gave her an excuse to make sure he would never harm her pack again. 

“Wait…”

She pauses, having picked up his whisper. She stays still and half expects him to just stay silent or tell her to keep walking, before she hears him sigh, “What I did to Kate...You’re right. It was terrible.”

She looks over her shoulder to frown at him as his back is still to her. He has his head tipped back as he stares up at the moon. She wonders if she heard him right. If Nathan Prescott was really admitting that what he did was wrong. That  _ he _ was wrong.

“Me pulling a gun on Chloe wasn’t very nice either. I just-”

Max looks up at the full moon briefly then closes her eyes as she takes in his sorrow. As she takes in his regret, his self loathing, his anger, and his utter disappointment in himself.

Never had Max thought she would be witness to a Nathan that had no emotional barriers up. That wasn’t being a dick to her for shits and giggles.

“What is it?” She asks softly. The growl and bite in her voice, gone. The emotions that were flooding her were suppressing the beast. Those things Nathan was felling were truly reaching her.

Not Alpha Max, the powerful wolf that did all she needed to do for her pack and was a force to be reckoned with.

But to Max Caulfield, the shy photography nerd who just wanted others to accept her as more than her beastly nature.

“I’m a fucking mess, Max. No wonder Jefferson asked you to do his dirty work for him. I can never fucking please that man...”

Max isn’t sure if she should even be here for this. She felt like she was peeking into a private part of Nathan’s life. Like some kind of filthy peeping tom.

“You aren’t even the first he asked to mentor me during the full moon. Even all the others thought I was a waste of time.”

She turns around fully at that, “Nathan.”

He tips his head to the side. Red streaks stain his checks. Blood. Vampire tears.

“I do dislike you,” Max states tentatively, “But I don’t hate you. And Jefferson cares. Even if I might not have been the first he asked, I am by far the most experienced. I used to run a pack in Seattle. I know how to deal with newbies during a full moon.”

Nathan looks down at the ground after Max finishes, “Fuck. I didn’t mean to pour all that on you. I’m...not use to the whole ‘being a real monster’ thing, yet.”

“That’s alright. I wasn’t either till about a year and a half ago. But I had friends to help me along that path of acceptance.”

Nathan nodded his understanding and wipes his tears away weakly as he sniffles. If Max couldn’t sense emotions the way she could, she would have right away thought he was faking this for her pity. A small little voice in the back of her head whispers that he still could be. But that was false. She knew that for a fact. She was really watching Nathan have a mental breakdown right in front of her.

“And we aren’t monsters. Neither of us asked for this, Nathan.”

She wasn’t sure she was right about that. Nathan would seem the one to ask to be turned for power or something else ridiculous but the way Jefferson had worded it when he explained Nathan’s turning and his family.

_ “His father owes me much more than a favor for taking Nathan under my wing.” _

When nothing meets her but silence, Max breaths through her nose in a sigh, “Meet you at the Topanga. Take as long as you need.”

“Thank you…” He whispers.

Then Max leaves him sitting in a pile of leaves and returns to the tree she hid her clothes under. Today had been insane. She met up with Chloe again and had just helped Nathan through an emotional meltdown. And she was about to have tea with her two best friends and a vamp she had thought she hated. But Nathan was just a lost, lost boy. However, that didn’t make up for taking blood from Kate. Kate was her packmate. One of her closest friends and one of the nicest people she knew in her life.

Then again, she understood why he did it.

He just had to. His beast demanded it. And from what Max understood vamp beasts were much more hostile when they didn’t get fed. At least Max had practice to hold back her own beast’s needs and wants. And even though she had the control, it was still insanely tasking.

While lost in her thoughts, she slowly shrinks in size and becomes covered in marginally less fur as she slowly shifts back. Soon she stands only in her boxers in the middle of the woods as she takes the time to get dressed. Once that is finished. She dusts off her shirt and makes her way back to where Nathan is smoking by the Topanga. Her eyes go straight to the deep claw marks she had left. She flinches slightly at that and makes a mental note to maybe start meditating to help with her anger problem.

“Sorry for going all ‘wolf’ on you.”

Nathan looks up from the spot he had been staring blankly at and shrugs but adds nothing more. Part of Max wanted to push him a little and ask if there was anything more he wanted to unload but that felt insensitive. If he didn’t want to talk to her, he didn’t have to.

Wordlessly she walks past him and heads toward the dorms. After a moment she hears him follow and the two enter the dormitories quietly and take their time heading up the stairs to the third floor. With that Max peeks into the hallway. Happy to find it empty, she motions for Nathan to follow as they make their way down the hall where Max gives a soft couple of knocks on Kate’s door. She answers and smiles to them as she steps to the side and let them enter. Max isn’t surprised to see Chloe sitting on Kate’s floor and petting her bunny, Alice.

Chloe, however, is surprised to see Nathan, “Why the hell is  _ he _ here?”

Kate closes the door and ignores Chloe’s comment as she gestures to the couch, “You can sit wherever you two like.”

Max slowly approaches Chloe and is careful to keep her movements slow as she sits on the floor next to Chloe who glares at Nathan as the young vamp awkwardly looks around the room as Kate begins to prepare tea for her guests.

Max watches Alice’s little nose wrinkle as she looks up at Max and pauses. The rabbit knew she was in the presence of a predator and quickly hides away in Chloe’s lap who looks down then up to Max who cocks her head to the side.

Then Max speaks, “I’m Nathan’s full moon mentor.”

Nathan shifts at that but makes his way slowly into the room as she walks around the two girls on the floor to sit on the couch.

Chloe’s eyebrows come together at that as her lips purse, “And what does that even mean?”

“I’m watching him for his sire.”

Chloe then gives a wide eyed look as she watches Max with childlike wonder, “Woah. You know an elder vampire?”

Max chuckles, “I do.”

“Who?”

Max catches Nathan watch her closely now and Max doesn’t even hesitate before saying, “Not my place to say, Chlo.”

“Awe. What a buzzkill.”

Nathan relaxes at that.

Max shrugs and her eyes return to Alice. The beast bubbles inside and reminds her she needs to eat tonight. But she swats it away. 

_ Alice is friend, not food. _

“So what does being a ‘full moon mentor’ mean anyways?”

Max looks to Nathan and twitches her head toward Chloe as her eyes follow before returning to Nathan. Getting him comfortable in this environment would be for the best. And talking with the others would help. 

Nathan’s eyes follow Max’s and settle on Chloe, “...Max is to help me get used to being without my sire during a full moon.”

Chloe turns to eye Nathan. Max can smell the skepticism.

“It’s quite common for those who are not used to dealing with full moons as a supernatural, to ask for a wolf’s help in coping.” Max adds.

Kate sets glasses up on the floor as she sits with Max and Chloe. Then she looks over the three before asking, “Have you full moon mentored before?”

“I have. I used to have a pack in Seattle and as alpha I helped new packmates get adjusted.”

“I’ve never met an alpha before,” Kate says as she looks through her different teas she had placed on the floor with them. Chloe does too, “I used to go to school with some werewolves in Portland, though.”

Nathan seems intrigued by this. Just as much as Max is, “Oh yeah?”

“Their packleader would attend church every Sunday.”

Max had never really heard about a wolf being much into religion. Most of the ones she knew and had talked to mostly just followed in the footsteps of the beast and the moon. It was normal for wolves to do that. Max was no exception. Her pack hadn’t had the highest opinions about their being a higher power. Kristen especially. She would lament over how she had ex-friends who had used their beliefs against her. Her horns were apparently the work of the Devil. Which Max thought was stupid. She had always found them cute.

Kate wasn’t like that. Max knew that well enough.

Even if the Vortex Club had painted Kate like that.

Max grumbles to herself as she picks out a tea.

“What kind of tea would you like, Nathan?” Kate asks as she begins to pour hot water in her and Chloe’s mug then Max’s once she had picked out a tea.

Nathan wiggles in place, “Um...I don’t know. Whatever is fine.”

“Chamomile it is.”

Then Max takes Nathan’s mug and turns to hand it to him. He takes it tentatively with both hands like he’s afraid he’s going to break the mug. Max finds the action to weirdly be simultaneously not like Nathan but also completely like him. Then they all busy with sipping and blowing at their tea. The tenseness that was once in the room fades as everyone relaxes with their mugs of tea in hand. Alice even hops around them as they sip tea. Max finds herself staring out of the window. Luckily she doesn’t spot the full moon. That would have just made her itch for more running. Something she was already well aware her and Nathan would need again.

Max focuses on the scent of tea in the room and the calming aura it brings. 

_ What a weird day. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see I made this a part of a series which will house this fic and maybe some ficlets. But most definitely that smut I teased before :P I'll post after next chapter as that will mark the end of Monday in the main game <3


	4. Amber Six Feet Under

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tea with Kate goes swimmingly.
> 
> Max and Nathan go back into the woods to run around only to run into Victoria.
> 
> Then a certain blonde makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear it isn't what it looks like, officer.
> 
> In all seriousness, Rachel will make an appearance. And not a dead one. I've already written out how she comes into play. It was a scene I had planned even before I finished Chapter Two. What the scene entails will only be revealed when we get that far into the story :P 
> 
> This chapter also wraps up Monday. Tuesday, as y'all know in the main game is a crazy day and I'll be prob add triggers to the tags when we get that far. Just a heads up. Stay safe y'all <3
> 
> Also...Happy Turkey Day!!!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter and have a lovely day! And no matter who you're spending Thanksgiving with, I hope you have a lovely holiday!!! And eat tons of yummy food!!! <3 <3 <3
> 
> (Love me some pumpkin pie :D)

“What’s being a vampire like?” Chloe had asked after laying down with her head resting in Max’s lap who couldn’t help but idly play with blue hair.

Kate holds Alice in her lap now as the bunny had long since went to sleep and Nathan had sprawled out on the couch. They had finished their tea and delved straight into conversation started by Kate who asked more questions of Max about being a werewolf. So they talked about that. Max happily answered any questions posed to her.

And Kate happily told all she knew, too.

Max learned that Kate grew up in a family of angels. Her father and two little sisters were angels and most those on Kate’s dad’s side of the family were holy supernaturals. Angels, holy spirits, and golems. That had caught Nathan’s attention as he said he didn’t know much about holy supernaturals. Kate happily told all she knew. Then Chloe was the one who posed the most questions, as she was the one to have the least exposure to supernaturals than the rest of them. All the talking kept everyone comfortable and Nathan seemed more relaxed when he realized no one in the room was here for his throat.

Nathan shrugs, “It isn’t anything special. Max can contest to how sucky it is to deal with the creature. And the cravings each creature has. As I’m sure you can guess, I need blood at least every two weeks.”

“Do you sparkle in the sunlight too?” Chloe jokes.

Nathan rolls his eyes but gives a chuckle, “I don’t. But some elder vampires do.”

“They do?” Max asks, tilting her head at Nathan, “Your sire laughed at how stupid that was.”

Nathan waves a hand in the air, “I did some research on it after I got turned. You know, so I could really learn what I had become. There are on record to have been two vampires that did sparkle in the light. Both were around a thousand years old.”

“The more you know.” Kate says cheerfully.

Max had to admit as the conversation went on, that this was one of the best full moons she had had in years. She was surrounded by friends and Nathan. And she was getting closer to at least seeing Nathan as a possible friend rather than an enemy. But this night was made a lot better by the fact that she had Chloe here with her. It felt so natural to be around her like this.

At some point the conversation turned to something about art Kate and Nathan happily talked about while Max was lost in thought and still playing with Chloe’s hair. She liked the short blue hair Chloe had adopted rather than her long strawberry blonde locks. Not that Max would have said no to bury her face in those but Chloe’s current haircut and style fit her better. Mainly it fit the person she had turned into but Max could still see younger Chloe under all that toughness and badassery.

At some point during the conversation, Chloe joins back in and starts talking about graffiti and how that ties into what Kate and Nathan had been talking about. Max was only partly listening as Alice had decided to move around the room again. The beast reminds her again how hungry she is. How she needs to kill tonight.

“Nathan,” Max gruffs out drawing the attention of the three others, “We need to go back out.”

“Right.” Nathan sits up then swings his legs over to stand from the couch. He stretches as Chloe hops to her feet and does the same. Max is slow and keeps her gaze on Alice before forcing herself to look up at Nathan.

Nathan then moves to the door first, “Thanks for the tea, Kate. This has actually been really nice.”

“Anytime, Nathan.” Kate replies.

“Yeah, this was awesome, Kate.” Chloe says with a grin.

“Tea tomorrow?” Max offers.

Kate beams at that, “Absolutely. This has been so wonderful.”

With that, the three take their leave but Nathan then pauses, “Oh...Kate?”

Kate turns to smile at him as she stands in her doorway. Max and Chloe both look at Nathan, “Yes?”

“Um...could I have a word?”

“Sure.” The two disappear back into Kate’s room.

Max and Chloe now stare at the door.

“What you think that was about?” Chloe asks.

“Not sure,” Max then shrugs and tilts her head Chloe’s way as she continues speaking, “So, I need to do more running and I’ll come back.”

Chloe smiles this time, “I know.”

Max’s eyes then flicker to the door again, “Let Nathan know to meet me in the woods. I...can’t wait.”

Chloe nods while running a hand through her hair then pausing, “Sure thing. I forgot my beanie in there anyways.”

Max makes her way down the hallway, “See you soon, Cap.”

“Sure thing, first mate.”

Then Max is down the stairs and outside. As soon as she steps into the moonlight the beast wants _ out _. She hardly waits to start stripping as soon as she hits the treeline. And begins shifting as she folds her clothes and hides them under a tree again. Needing to shift during a full moon was easier to deal with now compared to needing to shift when the beast forced it. When David had the intent of hurting Chloe, was one of those times. So was now when she needed to hunt. She pictures a deer in her mind’s eye. Forcing the beast to go after that instead of any of the other supernaturals that were bound to be in these woods during a full moon.

She finds herself stalking about the depths of the woods in search of her next meal. Staying close to the trees and slinking around on all fours.

Then on the edge of a clearing she spots it.

A stag grazing upon a patch of berries. Minding his own business with head bent low as he snacks upon the bush before him. Max stays a few trees away, staying low as she takes in his scent. He was alone.

_ Must have gotten separated from the herd _.

But that was the last thing she worries about as she gets closer.

Then the stag lifts his head at the sound of a twig crunching across from them. Max pauses but wasn’t about to let the moment go to waste as she readies to pounce. She’s flying out of her hiding spot with a snap of her jaws and the stag has barely enough time to turn his head toward her before her claws are deep in his flank and teeth are deep in his throat. Savoring the taste as she feeds to satisfy the beast.

In the beginning of being a wolf, she despised the taste of raw meat. Now it didn’t bother her as much. It was a necessary evil. It was better than lashing at her peers. Which early in her Seattle days she had done that a lot. Getting into fights with her parents or distancing herself from classmates at her old school before her mother and father sent her to a school that contained mainly other supernaturals.

Focusing on other things while the beast had its fill had always helped too.

“You damn mutt. That was _ my _ stag.”

Max looks up, maw bloody as she tilts her head at none other but Victoria Chase who holds a frown with arms crossed. Her outfit is all black compared to the normal attire she normally wore during class. The sweater she has dawned, along with the sweatpants, Max guesses it is probably as expensive as her other clothes. She wonders why Victoria would wear something like that out here in the middle of the woods. Max then spots the dagger sheath on her hip, eyes gloss over the ornate handle briefly before looking back up to the glare Victoria has fixed on her.

Victoria stands at least a good twenty feet away in the spot Max had heard the twig snap from. She hadn’t been the only one stalking this stag, apparently. And Max can’t help but stare her down as she takes a deep breath in through her nose.

_ Magic. Ugh, she reeks of it. Never took Victoria as a witch. _

“You snooze, you lose.” Max replies in a gruff voice, close to that of a growl.

Victoria’s frown deepens even more as Max returns to eating, “Who are you? One of the lame skater bros? A dumb jock? Oh, I swear to Nocturnal, if you are part of the Vortex Club and never disclosed you were a werewolf, I’ll have your fucking head.”

_ So she’s a necromancer. _

That wasn’t much of a surprise to Max. Neither was the her still being a queen bitch. Max supposed they were still on Blackwell grounds so it made sense Victoria went straight to assuming she was a student. But taunting a werewolf and an alpha at that? That was just dumb. Max had never taken Victoria for being dumb, then again she was stubborn and acted entitled all the time. So maybe Victoria thought she was stronger. Still very stupid, but the reasoning made sense.

“Why are you out here during a full moon?”

Victoria scoffs and Max can smell her annoyance at the fact that Max had brushed off her previous questions.

“That’s none of your damn business. Plus I asked you a question first you stupid stray.”

Max hated that even in a situation where Max could be an outsider to the Blackwell woods, Victoria was still like this. It makes the beast bristle and Max decides it best to ignore her and return to eating.

Victoria, however, seemingly will have none of that, “_ Tell me who you are _.”

Max twitches at that, ears flat against her head and pauses her feast at the command that jabs at the beast. Victoria was trying to use compel on her. Which had the same effect poking a bear with a stick would have. It angers Max.

She pulls from the stag now and growls deeply at Victoria, “_ No _. Now leave me to eat.”

Victoria blinks, bewildered that Max doesn’t bend to her will, “How did-what-that’s not-”

Max stands to her full height and steps over her kill as she makes her way closer to Victoria who begins taking steps back, shoulders scrunched up out of panic. Max bares her teeth, “You have no right to bully me or _ any _ of my packmates with trivial party tricks.”

“What? I haven’t done-”

Max bares her bloody teeth at Victoria in a warning. Victoria’s eyes go wide as the moonlight now illuminates her fully.

Max watches the color leave her face as she realized just how out matched she is.

Max stops, a few feet away from the queen bee when her back hits a tree and she turns around quickly and jumps then looks back to Max when she sees she’s put herself in a corner. The dagger is now drawn. A sacrificial dagger made of silver. The beast hisses internally at the sight but Max stays tall and keeps her growl bubbling in her throat.

She’s just about to tell Victoria to fuck off when someone lands between them. It takes Max a moment to take in the newcomer’s scent and appearance to realize it’s Nathan.

He puts his arms out and shakes his head, “Shit, Max. What’s with you and scaring the piss out of people?”

“Only bullies.” Max hisses out without really thinking about it.

_ Damnit now- _

“Max? Like in, introverted, hipster trash, Maxine Caulfield?”

“Max never Maxine.” Max huffs as she stands tall and decides Victoria isn’t worth her time as she returns to meal.

“No fucking way.” Victoria breathes out.

Nathan lets his arms fall to his side and the nervousness Max smelled on him as he stood before her, lessens as he relaxes, “It surprised the shit out of me too, Vic.”

Victoria looks between them before blinking a few times, “_ She’s _ the alpha werewolf Jefferson told you about?”

Nathan nods, “Yeah. And Max has made my first full moon without Jefferson...really nice, actually. So, like,” He turns to face Victoria now, “Lay off a little?”

Victoria sheathes her dagger and crosses her arms again with a scoff, “Only because you asked, Nate.”

Max watches them slightly as she gulps down most of the deer’s flank. She knew Nathan and Victoria were close but the nicknames were a little weird to hear in a context that seemed like the two were now deciding to be civil toward her. She had seen so many side of Nathan today. It was still strange and likely something she would never fully get used to, but nice all the same.

So if Victoria was finally going to be civil for once, Max could too, “What of the stag do you need?”

_ Hopefully she’ll lay off Kate now too. _

Victoria and Nathan both look to Max who is wiping blood off her chin on the back of paw that she drags across the leaves afterward.

“Most of the internal organs.”

Max looks back to the stag that is now more than half eaten, “I might have eaten some of those.”

Victoria rolls her eyes, “Typical mu-”

Nathan shoots her a look.

Victoria clears her throat to cover up the insult, “Whatever. Is the heart at least untouched?”

Max rolls the body over, “Yeah.”

Victoria looks between Nathan and Max and purses her lips as if she’s trying to make her mind up about something. Her and Nathan lock eyes and relay something unspoken before Victoria lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose, “Bring it here. I’ll do the sacrifice right now.”

Nathan beams at that, “Fuck yeah!”

Max can’t help but chuckle as she plunges her paw through the stag and removes his heart. As gross as it sounded and might look, Max was long past raw meat and being around animal carcases. And being asked to retrieve certain parts. Kristen would ask for Max to gather some strange ingredients for her when she was doing a particularly powerful spell. What Victoria was about to do was different however. Mortal magic user normally had a deity of some sort they would ask for more power from. Not all did. Her mother never bothered with it. But necromancers communicated with their deity rather often as Nocturnal was more likely to reply to her followers than most other deities.

Max stands before them. She can’t help but notice how Victoria gulps at the towering height Max holds over her in this form. Max watches her throat bob and the beast purrs at the sight. But Max shakes it off.

_ Chloe, and now Victoria? God. The beast is just as much of a gay mess as me. _

She holds her paw out that contains the heart, “Hold it against that tree,” She points to the tree she had backed up against before then looks back to Max, “please?”

Max passes the two of them to now stand to the side of the tree where, with one clawed finger, she holds the heart against the bark. Victoria then steps forward and with a practiced motion brandishing the knife once more and cuts an “x” into the heart while speaking in another language Max doesn’t really understand but she could recognize it as an incantation. She’d seen magic users do them enough times and she had practiced some simple ones herself once upon a time.

Victoria speaks clearly like she had down this a million times before, or at least practiced it a million times. Once she finishes she plunged the knife deep into the heart and falls silent. Max then lets go and steps back. The three of them stare at the bloody muscle pinned to the tree for a long moment.

Nathan then whispers, “What happens now?”

Victoria had crosses her arms again as she doesn’t take her eyes off of the tree, “We wait. But don’t get your hopes up, Nocturnal has never answered me before.”

Max eyes the blonde as she hears the anger and disappointment in her voice.

Nathan gives Victoria a concerned look as he watches her staring at the heart, hard. Max can see how much she wants something to happen.

So they all stand in silence for another few minutes before Victoria sighs and drops her arms to her sides and turns to face the two, “What have you two even been doing?”

“Mainly running around,” Nathan shrugs, “ran into some werewolves.”

Victoria raises an eyebrow Max’s way, “Some werewolves?”

“They came looking to print. They aren’t used to an alpha wolf being around these parts.”

“Not surprising in this hick-ville. Anyways, how the hell are _ you _ an alpha?”

Max gives a shrug.

“And how the hell do you hide it so well?”

“Practice.” Max gruffs.

Victoria rolls her eyes, “No shit. But I feel the power you have now. It’s insanely high. Higher then Jefferson’s at least.”

“I told you.” Nathan says casually.

“I’m good at keeping to myself, Victoria.”

Victoria scoffs at that, but she pushes past the jab Max throws her way, “But hiding that much power? _ God _ you reek of wolf. Courtney was sure you were just a weirdo. Most of the club thinks so. They are going to be so fucking surprised when I tell them about this.”

Max frowns, eyes narrowed Victoria’s way, “But you aren’t.”

“And you’re going to stop me?”

Max is ready to growl and _ really _ scare Victoria this time when Nathan steps between them again, “Max ain’t, but I am.”

Victoria blinks a couple of times and opens her mouth then closes it a few times like fish.

So Nathan keeps talking, “If Max doesn’t want the others to know, then they aren’t going to, Vic.”

Max blinks too.

_ Nathan is...sticking up for me? _

Victoria seems to be just as surprised as Max is. She also gives a look as if what Nathan just said had offended her in some way then it turns to anger as Victoria grabs him by the shoulder and turns him so the two face away from Max.

Victoria then hisses in a low tone, “What the hell has gotten into you?”

Nathan whispers back, “Max is a good one, Vic. She’s nothing like the ass kissers in the club. Nothing like any of our other friends.”

“And what the hell does that mean?”

“It means she doesn’t fucking judge us. I know the others do. They don’t like our dark magic, Vic.”

Victoria is silent.

Max was going to say she could hear them but decides to let them have their moment as she returns to the deer. The beast preferred to finish its meals when it could.

“Max knows what it’s like to have people fear her. She’s a damn alpha wolf. Why else do you think she’s not open at school like the others? Same reason _ I’m _ not that open about what I am.”

Victoria sighs, “I just...You’re sure she’s cool?”

“As a cucumber.”

“You’re such an idiot.”

Nathan giggles.

Max’s ears twitch at that. Nathan? Giggle? Never would Max expect for that to happen, much less in front of her. Had she really made that much of an impact on Nathan? In such a short amount of time? Was his life really that miserable?

Max wasn't sure, but that meant Nathan was more than the mean jock he hyped up. The one to get all the girls. The one to shove nerds into a locker. One of the leading bullies against Kate. Max was still hesitant to trust him, but here he was showing a side Max had never even expected. Possibly this was the true Nathan.

She tears into meat and gulps chunk after chunk down as she ponders this.

Victoria then straightens, pushing down her sweatshirt and holding her head high as she turns back to Max, “Fine. I’ll keep that you’re a wolf to myself.”

Max tilts her head and swallows again before speaking, “Thank you.”

Victoria looks away at that then Nathan walks over to Max, all smiles, fangs showing as he beams, “You know, Max, I’m down for some more tag.”

“Sweet. Let me finish up.”

Nathan nods and decides to hop up into the trees. Victoria stares back at the heart and shakes her head as she walks over to remove the dagger. When she does, the heart turns to dust. Then she sheathes the knife and turns away back to Max.

“I have a question.”

Max peers up, “Shoot.” She says with a mouth full of flesh that Victoria flinches at.

“How long have you been a werewolf?”

Max rolls her eyes. The most asked question as of late. Not one she was against answering. It was just getting old, “Five years.”

“And you were turned?”

“Yeah. At thirteen.”

Victoria almost gives her a pitied look before she covers it up with scowl, “Well, that must of sucked.”

Max shrugs, “I got over it.”

“You always seem like loser. Why the hell not channel some of this confidence you have now, huh? You’d have more friends that way.”

“That doesn’t matter that much to me. Those worthy of being apart of pack will show themselves.”

“That’s the most hipster thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Yep.”

Victoria rubs between her eyebrows as she mumbles, “I don’t know what Nate sees in you.”

Max finishes eating, nibbling at the bones slightly then stands tall as she licks her chops. The beast settles now. Max definitely felt more like herself.

Victoria’s nose scrunches up at the utter disgust she feels from the display, “Gross.”

Max licks her teeth, baring them slightly as she cleans them, “Says the one who watched me tear a heart out and hold it in place for you.”

“Whatever.”

“Nathan, do you want me to be it first?”

The tree to the right of Max loses some of its leaves as Nathan hangs out of it from the low hanging branch, “Nah. I want to chase you first.”

“Alright. Come down here so we-”

“What the fuck is that?” Nathan asks as he points.

Max’s eyes follow, as do Victoria’s. They both turn to look at the tree where the heart had been. It glows. A bright white blinding light that dims as a leg followed by the rest of a torso then a head of a ghostly, pale, transparent figure steps out of the tree. They are bright. A bright white with shining green eyes. Their long locks flow and sway to a breeze that isn’t there. And after Max’s eyes slowly take in the spirit that reeks of magic and smoke, she realizes it is of a girl.

Her eyes are locked on Victoria who stares on with wide eyes. Max takes in the details of the spirit’s face. At first the light is too blinding to really make out the woman's face and attire but the longer Max stares the more clear she becomes. Her soft features become apparent as does the tank top and flannel she wears over it. Same with the booty shorts. And the detailed dragon tattoo on her right calf. She starts speaking but no words follow as her lips move but Victoria seems captivated. Maybe even shell shocked. The the woman flips her long silvery, see through locks. A feather earring runs along her knuckles as she does so.

Then Max knows who that is.

_ Is that...Rachel? Rachel Amber? Oh no… _

Once Max has that thought, she knows for certain she is in the presence of Rachel’s spirit or at least an echo of it.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Victoria says.

Rachel’s lips move again which prompts a scoff.

“That still doesn’t-”

Rachel’s lips move again.

But Victoria doesn’t let her finish this time, “I didn’t say repeat yourself, spirit. Show your true self.”

Rachel’s eyes lack emotion as she closes her lips and frowns. The thin line makes her look serious maybe even angry, but Max can’t smell what she is feeling. The only scent she holds is magic and a hint of smoke. Close to what Max had smelled on the photo Chloe had in her room. Minus the magic.

Rachel says something short then crosses her arms. A bright light blinds them briefly as Rachel goes up in silvery white flames that crackle then fade into the ground till they are left in the dark. The full moon their only light now.

A thud sounds as Nathan drops from the tree and raises from a crouch with a look of wonder, “Did Nocturnal answer?”

Victoria just stares at the tree, shoulders tense. Max watches her shake before curling her hands into fists at her sides to hide the way she trembles. She faces away from the two as she walks closer to the tree. Max can smell tears.

But Victoria replies in an even voice that hides her sorrow, “Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?” Nathan still keeps his cheerful tone, unaware of Victoria’s turmoil.

“It means Nocturnal decided to send a spirit my way instead of showing herself.”

“Was the spirit anyone you know?”

Max looks over to stare at Nathan. There was no way Nathan hadn’t recognized Rachel Amber. Her face was all over the school and Max had heard rumors that he knew her. That was her. It had to be her.

Victoria answers flatly as she rubs her face, trying to make it look like she was fixing her hair, “No.”

She was lying to Nathan. But Max keeps to herself as she was dealing with her own internal storm.

_ How in the hell am I going to tell Chloe this? _

Nathan pouts, “Boooring. Max, let’s play tag before I vibrate myself to death.”

“Uh. Sure. Yeah.” Max replies as she tears her attention away from Victoria and her own thoughts.

“I’ll count. See you later, Vic. Sorry Nocturnal ignored you again.”

Victoria just shrugs. So Nathan shrugs in return and Max sets off in a run on all fours once Nathan starts counting. She runs deep into the woods, waving through trees as her mind wonders again. She can’t believe that happened. So much happened there.

Rachel’s spirit answered Victoria’s call.

Victoria had been overly upset and had lied to Nathan.

And Nathan didn’t know who the spirit was when it had been very evident as to who that was.

Max didn’t know much about the afterlife and how all that worked. She understood the minimum when she had questioned the hell out of a necromancer that used to be part of her pack about two years ago. He told her there were different stages for spirits and ghosts. Which were different things. He told her that seeing a spirit could mean three things:

The person was calling for help. Usually a magical mortal or supernatural would use this if they were in desperate need for help.

The person’s spirit had been forced from their body and needed help getting back.

Or the person was dead.

If Rachel was only an elemental, then the first one was impossible. The second one was hard to gauge if that had been the case. Chloe had said Rachel had been looking for a mentor. Maybe this mentor hadn’t had pure intentions. But that could also mean-Max really hoped Rachel wasn’t the last one. She could already tell how much that would crush Chloe. Max might have been jealous but never enough to wish _ death _ upon Chloe’s girlfriend.

She’s torn from her thoughts when Nathan lands on her and pulls her tail. She growls and bucks him off, sending him back up into the trees, laughing. She quickly changes direction to follow him. Pushing her thoughts away. They were too jumbled and the beast wasn’t having it. Her being side tracked took away from burning away all her nervous energy she had. So she focuses on Nathan’s scent as she chases him.

They change back in forth again. Nathan was getting better at pushing past any tricks Max threw his way to get him off her tail. They got better at catching one another. Nathan was good at catching Max when she kept running in the same direction, and Max was good at catching him in the air.

Like what she had just done. They both crash to the forest floor, rolling around in the leaves, shoving and getting a bit more playful as their beasts were getting used to dealing with one another. Max shoves Nathan off as he chuckles and lands in the grass on his back. Max also stays on her back, taking slow breaths as she caught hers. She could hear Nathan do the same as she stares up at the stars and bright moon above them. It was a beautiful sight followed by thin rolling clouds that overlapped the moon briefly before continuing on their way.

They lay silently as they calm down. Max closes her eyes to bask in the satisfying feeling the beast gave her as it had been successfully sedated for tonight. It had been a long time since Max had made the beast feel so complete and she reveled in it. It was a great feeling. Especially to have after all she had dealt with today and tonight. Hopefully she wouldn’t even need to do any running tomorrow night. But that was wishful thinking. The after effects of the full moon would last a few more days before she could fully go back to being in full control again.

“Hey, Max?”

She opens her eyes and tilts her head in Nathan’s direction, “Hm?”

“Thanks for tonight.”

“No problem. Thanks for tonight too.”

He looks at her too, “Really?”

“Yeah. I missed having a full moon partner, honestly. It’s boring to just chase wild animals for hours.”

Nathan chuckles and looks back up at the stars.

Then she can’t help but ask, “You’ll really keep that I’m a wolf to yourself?”

He nods as he folds his arms behind his head, “Yeah. I’m not gonna just out you. I might be a jerk, but damn.”

“What made you change your tune?”

He taps his chin in thought then waves a hand in the air, making some indistinct gesture, “You aren’t who I thought you were.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I don’t know. I guess I thought the whole ‘lone wolf act’ was really just that.”

“‘Lone wolf act?’”

“Yeah. Vic kinda said it was like you kinda just went through the day just to get it over with. Like you had already accepted what was to come. I know it’s rich coming from me, but it made it sound like you were pretentious as fuck but not like in a cool kid way.”

“What you mean?”

“Like you really thought you were the cream of the crop you know? But then you have that shy hipster vibe with your art. And you’re clearly good. Even Vic thinks so even if she picks on you about the whole analogy thing.”

Max rolls her eyes, “Her skills are way better than mine. She doesn’t need to be so jealous.”

“No way. I totally get the jealousy. You can get a shot in one go. Because you have to. No retakes. And you fucking do. You got a really good eye, Max.”

Max didn’t know how to take a complement like that from Nathan, not that she was good at taking complements anyways, “Wow. Thanks, Nathan.”

“Don’t mention it. I know Vic has been pretty shitty to you, hell I have too, but we never hated you.”

“Is that the same for Kate?”

Nathan stares at his feet when that is asked. He sighs and closes his eyes as he lets his head lay back into the grass, “No. It wasn’t the same for Kate…”

“Then why?”

“Because...I didn’t know what I was doing and Vic thought it was her letting loose, you know? The uptight Christian girl gets hammered and shows her true colors. She thought it was funny and I...I wasn’t about to tell her what I did.”

Max lets out a soft sigh, “It was awful what you did to her. What you and Victoria are doing to her.”

“I know that now...I’ll tell Vic to lay off a little.”

“That would be very nice of you.” Then a thought passes through Max’s mind, “Why are you telling all this to me?”

Nathan bites his bottom lip and looks away, “I-uh-well...No reason?”

She didn’t need heightened senses to tell that he was lying. She sits up and stretches with a groan as she also cracks her neck, “You and Victoria have been awful to me and Kate. And a lot of others for that matter. I dislike that you both feel you have to be dicks to be popular. But you aren’t all bad, Nathan. I see that now and I like this Nathan better than the one who pulled a gun on Chloe and hit Warren.”

He sits up as Max stands and gives a shake, getting the leaves out of her fur. His eyes stay on her as the red fades from them, “...You mean that?”

“I have no reason to lie to you. You’ve been honest with me, I’ll be honest with you.”

He looks away again, working his bottom lip between his teeth as he mulls over something before letting it go, “You asked for a reasoning?”

She looks down at him.

“I want this to happen again,” He rubs his thighs as he speaks in a quiet voice, “Spending the full moon with you is so much better than spending the full moon with Jefferson. The man is such a hard ass and so stuck in the old vampire ways. It drives me up a damn wall sometimes. But you Max. You’re chill.”

She offers a paw to Nathan that he takes. She speaks as she helps him stand, “I can talk to Jefferson about becoming your full time full moon companion.”

“You’d do that?” Nathan gawks.

“Sure. This was fun and I can tell you just needed to let loose some steam. Not cramped in his lair, where I would assume he spends his full moons.”

“Mostly yeah,” Nathan pulls from Max and also stretches, “This was a lot of fun. I think I’m gonna go find some animal or some shit to feed off of. Have a good night, Max.”

“You too, Nathan.”

With that Nathan turns into a bat and is off, fading into the dark and tree foliage. Max takes off toward the tree she hid her clothes at and without wasting any time is fully dressed and back inside the dorms. Max takes her time to climb the stairs and can’t help but hope Chloe was sleeping. She didn’t think she’d be able to keep her discovery about Rachel to herself tonight if Chloe was still up. But she really did need time to mull it over. This was big. This was huge and could mean that finding Rachel was more serious then just seeing if she had left without Chloe. Which Max hadn’t believed at all. From what Max had learned from other students, Rachel didn’t seem the type to do that. Plus Max couldn’t believe someone would just up and abandon someone as awesome, caring, and loving as Chloe.

That thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She gives a shake of her head. She still felt like she had to say sorry to Chloe and not matter how many times she might, she still didn’t feel like it would be enough. No excuse in the world could excuse how she had ghosted Chloe for fives years. At least Rachel was there for her, same with Frank’s pack and Rachel’s moms.

Max runs a hand through her hair as she enters her floor and is careful to close the door quietly. She keeps a hand on it as she lets the door settle in place.

Then someone clears their voice behind her.

She turns. Victoria stands before the door to her own room, hand on the handle to show she must have just returned. She holds a hard glare toward Max. It lacks its usual bite but it was a glare all the same.

“What’s with being nice to Nathan all of sudden?” She kept her voice low and stern.

Max raises an eyebrow, “He isn’t as bad as I first assumed.”

Victoria purses her lips at that as if she didn’t believe that and Max can hear it in her voice, “That really it? Not using him to get close to Jefferson?”

Max makes her way closer to Victoria as she heads for her own room, “I already had a decent standing with him before he asked me to watch Nathan this full moon.”

Victoria turns as she her eyes follow Max’s every step, “_ Tell me the truth. _”

Max gives a gruff from her throat, the beginning of a growl she shuts down even if Victoria tried to use compel on her again, “You can just ask nicely. Not order it out of me.”

Victoria’s eyes narrow, “What did Jefferson offer you?”

“A favor,” Max says as she pauses at her door and turns to face Victoria, “But I admit that I don’t mind Nathan now. Even if my initial reasoning was to do it for the favor.”

“You’re too damn calculated for your own good, Caulfield.”

“Is that bad?”

Victoria ponders that but then shakes her head as she crosses her arms, “Whateverthefuck. You better not hurt him or you’ll deal with a wraith worse than death.”

“Fair enough.”

Victoria then turns and opens her door but Max is speaking before she can really stop herself.

“Wait. You keep grilling me. I have a question. Why did you lie to Nathan?”

Victoria spins on her heel, fire in her eyes. Max must've struck a nerve. But the icy glare does nothing to throw her off her game, “_ What _ did you just say?”

“Why did you lie to Nathan?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The spirit. You lied about knowing her.”

“Her? How the hell-”

Max stalks closer as she lowers her voice to a whisper, “Rachel Amber.”

Victoria goes stiff.

“That’s who you saw. What did she say?”

“Fuck you. That’s none of your fucking business, Lamefield.”

_ Hm. I really struck a nerve. I wonder what their history is. _

But Max backs off, putting her hands up and shaking her head, “Forget it. I don’t want a fight.”

“The fuck you don’t. You bring her up just randomly, huh? Trying to push my buttons? Get back at me for hurting poor ‘miss twerk for Jesus?’ Is that it?”

Victoria steps into Max’s personal space. The two meet in the space between their two dorm room doors. Victoria has a few inches on Max as she glares down. She radiates anger. So much so Max can see her shaking, trying to keep her already unraveling compurse under wraps.

Then Max raises both eyebrows out of confusion, “Randomly? I saw her too. I have no clue how Nathan didn’t recognize her. Her posters are all over the school.”

“You’re spewing such bullshit. You better be careful with what you say around me.”

Then she pushes Max. Or at least tries to. Max rocks on her heels slightly having not expected the shove but doesn’t move from her spot which only makes Victoria fume who just shoves herself away from Max with both hands against Max’s chest and turns on her heel. She storms into her room without another word and slams the door shut that leaves a ringing in Max’s sensitive ears. She rubs her forehead even more confused than she thought she would be from having dealt with Victoria.

What made her think Max would lie about something like that? And to get under her skin?

_ What the hell does that even mean? _

She shakes her head and shrugs as she decides there was no point to stand there and ponder about something she wasn’t about to get answers to. So Max returns to her own room and softly closes her door as she enters her darkened room. The only light being the moonlight and the harsh brightness emitting from her computer that lays on her bed next to Chloe who lays on her side, facing the wall as she sleeps. She slowly made her way into the room with no trouble with seeing at all and picks up her laptop and closes it before setting it on her desk and plugging it in.

Her eyes then return to Chloe who Max notices is just in a pair of boxer briefs and her sleeveless shirt. Her jeans, beanie, and jacket are thrown haphazardly on Max’s couch which makes her smile to herself as she folds the clothes neatly and sets them on the couch’s right arm rest. Chloe’s no care attitude was another thing Max had missed about her best friend. Something Max had always been envious of when they were kids.

They had changed a lot since they were kids.

Max grabs the pjs she had set out earlier that night and her caddy bag and decides a shower would be best after spending all night in the woods. Then she could return to Chloe and hold her best friend like she had when they used to have sleepovers. Max was looking forward to that. Tomorrow, however, was going to be something else. She wasn’t sure how she would bring up Rachel. It felt wrong to keep it to herself. Maybe she could talk to Frank first. He seemed sensible and Chloe had mentioned the two had history even before Chloe really got to know her that fateful night during Firewalk’s performance.

_ Whatever. That’s tomorrow Max’s problem even if it is also three in the morning at least. _

She throws all those thoughts aside as she leaves her room to head to the showers. Focusing on the idea of hot water running down her body to wash today’s troubles away. Then with the prospect of cuddling with Chloe tonight. She hums to herself softly. The beast purrs at the idea too.

The here and now was most important. Not the past. Not the future. The here and now with Chloe was the single most important thing to her right now. Something she wasn’t about to take for granted anymore.

They’d find Rachel and Max would make up for how horrible of a friend she had been to Chloe.

That was a thought she could get behind fully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also a bit of a spoiler but endgame may or may not be amberpricefield :P


	5. Hunting For A Hint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max brushes her teeth only to deal with a very pissed off Victoria.
> 
> Max and Chloe head to the Two Whales and end up talking about Rachel which leads to them visiting Frank.
> 
> Frank wants to help but it's clear he's accepted Rachel is gone and thinks Chloe should do.
> 
> Until they both hear the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya!
> 
> So for those who read any of my other fics, I just finished Chapter 22 for ANRWAH. My best friend and I have gotten back into working on it. I haven't decided when I'll post but it'll be before the end of the year. I want to at least start Chapter 23 first and start making some more headway further into the story before I start posting again.
> 
> Anyways!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter! I really enjoyed writing Frank and Chloe interactions. Even tho they do get a little heated. Have a lovely day peeps! :D

Max wakes with a groan as she hears her phone going off on her desk. She grumbles and stretches only for her feet to hit the wall, jostling the mirror on it. And she presses into a body next to her that curls in closer uttering her own groan as she buries her face deep into raven tresses.

Max looks down at Chloe who has buried her face deep in Max’s furry chest, hands idly pet Max’s sides. Her tail wags at that as she becomes more conscious.

_ Shit. I shifted in my sleep_. _ There goes a nice pair of pjs. _

That wasn't uncommon after a full moon. And sometimes her dreams tied into it to. But Max could feel it slipping away. And the loud noise of her phone was now becoming a nuisance. But Chloe was so warm. She nuzzles into blue hair breathing in the scent of home she had missed so much.

Chloe grumbles again, “Max...can you shut that damn thing off?”

“I don’t wanna move.” Max complains in a scratchy voice.

Chloe then opens her eyes. Max looks down at her and watches her blink and take in the fluffy fur and snout that returns to resting on the top of her head. Chloe sighs and wraps her arms as far around Max she can, “You are really fluffy.”

Max chuckles, “Glad you think so.”

“We should have sleepovers more often.”

The alarm had stopped. Max wondered why she had left it on in the first place. It wasn’t like she had morning classes today and she’d taken a shower last night.

_ Rachel… _

She sighs out of her nose into Chloe’s hair.

“What’s up, Maxironi?”

Her tail hits the side of the bed a few times as it wags while she thinks that question over. As much as Max just wants to tell Chloe right now, Max decides it best to keep it to herself until she has more information about it. The more she knew about why Rachel’s spirit had shown up, the easier it would be to break the news to Chloe if it was indeed as bad as Max really hoped it wasn’t.

“What you wanna do today?”

Chloe pats Max’s sides, “Thought you’d never ask. Honestly down for some breakfast and you can say hi to mom.”

“Two Whales?”

“Hell yeah Two Whales.”

“That means we have to get up.”

Chloe gives another groan and buries her face deeper into Max’s chest. Max chuckles and just holds Chloe close. They stay like that for a long moment that felt like forever and one Max wished would last forever.

That was until Chloe pulls away to grin at Max only for her nose to wrinkle as she brings a hand up to cover her nose, “Ugh, you have morning dog breath.”

Max rolls over at that and sits up before standing, “I knew I forgot to do something last night.”

She slowly unshifts and grabs a bra from her dresser that is pressed against the wall to the left of the couch.

Chloe grumbles, “Dude, warn me when you do that.”

Max clips her bra in place easily then begins to hunt for a shirt and a pair of jeans, “Warn you about what?”

“Getting naked, dude.”

Max raises an eyebrow after pulling on a shirt and turning to look at Chloe, “I don’t see the big deal.”

Chloe’s cheeks are a light pink as she has her hands covering her eyes. It was really cute how embarrassed Chloe got.

“Max, I have a girlfriend.”

Max grabs a pair of jeans from the floor and pulls them on as she rolls her eyes, “Sounds like an excuse to me, Chlo.”

Chloe drops her hands now and eyes Max with a confused look, “An excuse for what?”

Max smirks, “For staring at my ass.”

Chloe’s whole face goes red, “When the hell did you get so smooth?”

Max trots over to her desk, happy she flustered Chloe so much. When they were kids Chloe was usually the one to fluster her all the time, “Surprisingly getting mauled by a werewolf can really be a confidence booster.”

Chloe laughs at that, “Funny. Seattle was really something else, huh?”

“It was,” Max answers as she picks up her phone and scrolls through her missed notifications, “My pack were a lot more out there then I was. They helped me out of my shell.”

“Well,” Chloe throws a smirk Max’s way, “I like this new Maxiwolf.”

Now it was Max’s turn to blush. She could never get used to that nickname. It just felt so enduring coming from Chloe. So she stuffs her face in her phone to hide the blush. She busies herself with looking over the texts she got from Warren last night.

**Warren:** Max you asleep? Some crazy shit just went down!

Then there was an attachment. A video that takes a moment to load but once it does Max shakes her head. It was of her tackling Nathan in the courtyard then talking to Kate before her and Nathan disappear back into the woods.

**Warren:** Let me know when you wake up! I can’t even believe I watched that happen!

**Max:** You know who the others were? Couldn’t really tell.

**Warren:** Morning Mad Max! I’m not sure either. it was a bit too dark but that doesn’t matter

**Warren:** What matters is that there is a WEREWOLF at our school! How freaking cool is that?

Max snickers to herself. It would probably blow Warren’s mind if she told him it was her. She had planned to at some point. Maybe now was the best time out of any.

“What’s got you so invested?” Chloe ponders.

Max looks up from her phone to Chloe in the middle of buttoning up her jeans then grabbing her beanie from the top of her jacket and gently placing it upon her head, “Warren, a friend of mine at Blackwell, caught a video of me going all wolf on Nathan in the courtyard.”

“Oh shit,” Then Chloe flops onto the couch, putting her feet up on the cushions as she leans back, still looking at Max, “Is that good or bad?”

“So-so, I think. I was going to tell him sooner or later.”

“Yeah, what he look like?”

Max raises and eyebrow then rolls her eyes as she starts typing, choosing to ignore Chloe’s smug look, and mess with Warren a little.

**Max: **I might know this wolf actually.

**Warren:** No way. Why didn’t you say anything before?

**Max:** She wasn’t ready to be outed yet

**Max: **And she’d always kept being a wolf to herself. It’s what she was used to

**Warren: **Sounds like you guys are close. Who is it?

**Max:** Yeah super close. I see her in the mirror every morning

Warren doesn’t reply right away. Max could just imagine how the gears were turning in his head. She decides to busy herself with checking her other messages. One from Kate and another from an unknown number. She checks the unknown number first as she begins gathering things for her morning routine. 

**Unknown Number:** hey max. its nathan. thanks for last night and i ran the idea of you being my full moon companion by him. he’s down but wants to talk to you about it first

She updates the contact info before beginning to type back a reply.

“I was thinking, Max. After breakfast I want to show you this place Rach and I always hung out at. I still go there a lot. You know, like a home away from hell.”

Max looks up from her phone to look down at Chloe who peers up from her spot on the couch, legs perched on the opposite arm rest as her arms are folded behind her head.

“I’m game. Just talking with the masses and still need to brush my teeth.”

Chloe shrugs, “We got all the time in the world,” Then Chloe smirks, “Forever gives all the time in the world to do whatever.”

“True.” Max says with a smile of her own.

Then she goes back to gathering things as she looks back to her phone.

**Max:** Alright. Let him know I’ll talk with him after classes. Got a busy morning lined up

**Nathan:** will do. thanks again for last night

**Max: **No problem. You find an animal to feast from?

**Nathan:** yeah just some squirrel

**Max: **Tasty

**Nathan:** meh. i gotta go but before i do remind vic to lay off if she bothers you and kate

**Max:** Thanks. See you around

**Nathan:** peace

Max takes the moment to check Kate’s message as she grabs her toothbrush and toothpaste, pocketing them in the back pocket of her jeans.

**Kate:** Hey, Max, thanks for last night <3 

**Max:** No problem! We all had lots of fun :P

**Kate:** When you see Nathan again, let him know he can join our tea dates whenever he would like again. So can Chloe :D

**Max: **Will do!

Once that is finished up, Max pockets her phone grabs a hair brush and moves to the door, “Be right back, Chlo.”

“Chill. I’ll be here.”

Once Max steps into the hallway, she’s greeted by the many scents that fill the girl’s dormitory. A mashup of scents that vary per person and emotion. During Max’s first morning in the dorms with everyone it had been overwhelming. She wasn’t used to so many new smells all at once. Now she had grown accustomed to them. It was still hard to pick out who was who. Some scents stuck out like Kate’s and Chloe’s. Kate was still in her room which also carried the soft sounds of a violin. Max smiles to herself. She had missed Kate’s morning practices during this weekend after the party and that video.

She could also pick up Victoria’s scent as she passed her room followed by two others. Likely Courtney and Taylor. But Max couldn’t tell the two apart. Not right now unless she took the time to concentrate but that wasn’t important. Max can also hear the middle of a conversation she didn’t care about. She may have good hearing, but she wasn’t one to eavesdrop. Even on the likes of the Vortex Club snobs.

With a spring in her step, Max heads to the shower room. The beast was relaxed and she had full control for now. It felt nice after a full day of fighting it back, like trying to push a lion back with a chair and whip. If that lion was part man and almost ten feet tall with a blood lust for the crowd of people watching the display. Even if Max’s teeth felt a little sharper than normal and her hair was a mess from having just unshifted. It was the same way the day before the full moon and during the full moon. At least her eyes were normal. No need to out herself to everyone she ran across. The teeth could easily be written off as her being something else. Max had no doubt people already had inklings she was supernatural in some sense of the word.

Like Dana who she had flashed her pearly whites to.

As Max is lost in thought, she sees the bathroom door open next to her just as she was about to step past Alyssa. The glint of something white shoots out and without really thinking about it, Max’s left hand whips forward and catches the roll of toilet paper inches from the back of Alyssa’s head as the purple haired girl was looking over the bulletin board. She pauses then turns to watch as Max lowers her hand and tosses the roll next to the door.

“That’s the second time you’ve stopped something from hitting me.”

Max shrugs, “What can I say. Good timing and reflexes make a hell of a team.”

Alyssa smiles at that. It’s friendly unlike most of the smiles that seemed more than forced that she normally got from Alyssa. The two might both be considered outcasts but they had never really ran with the same crowd. Plus they were both lone wolves. Max an alpha wolf and Alyssa a bridge troll, one of the hardest supernaturals to find unless you knew what you were looking for or you had a killer sense of smell. Many normies were unaware of their existence, but that could be said about a lot of supernaturals.

But Max wasn’t a normie, never was, and had both. The tribal like tattoos that Alyssa did well to hide most times sometimes poked out from under her shirt’s sleeves and she smelled of cattails and freshly cut wood. A calming scent Max had used to ground herself during the now past two full moons during the classes the two shared.

“They really do. Thanks for the save again, Max.”

Max nods and offers a closed mouth smile as she continues on her way. Having a bridge troll in her pack would be wonderful. Not that she would ever force Aylssa, or anyone for that matter, into her pack. But they were best known for their super strength and incredible intelligence as well as their obsession with riddles. Max knew if that football or tp had hit Aylssa those more in likely wouldn’t have even phased her but that could potentially out her as supernatural and Max understood wanting to stay under the radar. Especially Victoria’s radar.

After walking past Aylssa, she makes a sharp left and opens the door to the shower room. Both side stalls were washing steam into the air as showers were being had before morning classes started. Max was happy to find that all sinks were free so Max could brush her teeth in peace until someone came in or one of the girls stepped out of the shower.

With toothpaste and toothbrush set on the back of the sink, Max looks up at her reflection. For once in the last month, almost a month and a half, Max looked well rested. The bags under her eyes were almost completely unnoticeable. Maybe she should hunt more often. She had neglected to do so last full moon here and her sleeping schedule had suffered greatly because of it. She didn’t like having a habit of hunting. But holding out till she couldn’t anymore wasn’t her smartest idea either.

Max sighs as she begins brushing her hair then pulling it back into a ponytail before setting the hair brush aside then baring her teeth in the mirror before checking that no one was watching. As she had thought, all canines. Sharp and pointed and some were still stained with the blood from last night’s kill. Without wasting anymore time she begins brushing her teeth after placing toothpaste on her toothbrush.

_ Be gone wolf breath. _

She thinks as she spits into the basin just as the door opens.

“Lamefield.”

The icy cold voice of Victoria “Queen Bee” Chase filled Max with a mix of a reassurance and annoyance. Reassurance because she could just continue brushing her teeth as Victoria already knew what she was. Annoyance because of the nickname. Victoria was here to cause trouble.

“Morning, Victoria.” Max says before returning to brushing her teeth.

Victoria leans against the sink right next to the one Max stands at as she seethes, dropping her voice down to a whisper, “Don’t ‘morning, Victoria’ me. What the hell did you see last night?”

“What I already told you.” Max casually says with a mouth full of toothpaste.

“That’s bullshit,” Victoria spits out, “How the hell did you know about me and Rachel? Lucky guess? The rumor mill?”

Max blinks and turns to look at Victoria fully. The blonde looks just as angry as she had been last night. 

Max is regretting having said anything about Rachel to Victoria.

“I just told you what I saw, Victoria, because I wanted to know what I could find out. Chloe and I-”

“Price? The blue haired dropout?” Victoria practically growls at that, “_She _ told you?”

Max spits into the basin again and sighs, ignoring the insult even as the beast grumbles, “Chloe’s just looking for Rachel, and I said I’d help. I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Victoria’s eyes narrow as her teeth grind against one another in her fuming rage. Something that Max was still confused about. Victoria seemed to think Max knew something she wasn’t supposed to. But how did she get that conclusion out of Max just simply asking about what Rachel’s spirit had told her? All Max wanted was a lead. If she had that then she could figure out how to break the news to Chloe.

“Tell her to stop already.”

Max blinks at that, “...What?”

“You heard me, mutt. Rachel’s gone.”

Max’s heart sinks at that, “And how do you know for sure?”

“I saw her. Talked to her fucking ghost. She’s a lost cause, was anyways.”

The negativity Victoria uses in her tone makes Max wonder what Rachel might have done to her. Apparently Chloe knew. Maybe Max would have to ask.

“Her spirit, you mean. That wasn’t a ghost.”

Victoria blinks, taken aback by that statement.

“Which means, maybe she isn’t dead.”

“Fuck you-” Victoria gets out before the door to the shower room swings open then closes as Kate enters, still in her pjs and carrying her shower caddy.

The bags under her eyes aren’t heavy as they had been these past couple of days which has Max smiling. But that smile doesn’t last as Kate’s shoulders right away slouch as she tries to hurry past Victoria to the middle shower, the only one free. Victoria steps in the way having watched Kate enter. The beast bristles, immediately raising to the surface as Max sets her toothbrush down on the side of the sink.

“Morning, Katie.” Victoria says in a sing songy voice.

Kate stares everywhere but Victoria and stays silent.

“Come now, Katie, we know you aren’t shy. That video-”

Max steps in, putting herself between Kate and Victoria as she gets into the Queen Bee’s face, “Enough. I’m sick of you messing with my pack.”

Victoria sneers at Max leaning down close as their faces were now inches a part, “And what are you going to do, fido? Cry wolf?”

Max had never wanted to hurt someone as bad as she wanted to hurt Victoria in this moment. To strike her down, knock her down several pegs. Maybe even rake claws through flesh-

The shower curtain closest to the three of them opens to reveal Dana in a towel who beams brightly as she steps from the stall, “Victoria! I was hoping to run into you this morning.”

Victoria pulls away after shooting Max a pointed glare. A fake smile is dawned as she steps back and faces Dana, “Courtney mentioned you were looking for me.”

Dana smiles back and walks past to one of the free sinks. At that, Victoria turns to face Dana fully as the cheerleader speaks, “I was wondering about everything you have planned for the party this Friday. And I do have a few ideas, like always.”

As the two get lost in their conversation about the upcoming Vortex party, Max turns around to face Kate. They wordlessly exchange looks. Max giving a concerned look and Kate nodding to let Max know she was okay. Then Kate enters the middle stall. Max sighs to herself and returns to her sink and begins brushing her teeth again.

“That sounds like an amazing idea!” Dana says cheerfully.

Victoria’s smugness shows thick in her voice, “I know. We’ll be talking about this in detail in tomorrow’s meeting. I’m sure we can build from there.”

“Absolutely.”

Victoria then turns to face Max again. She glares at her briefly before deciding she wasn’t worth the time. Victoria huffs and walks toward the door, “Good talk, Dana.”

“See you around, Victoria.”

Then the Queen Bee leaves.

Silence settles, besides the sound of Max brushing her teeth, trying to calm down the beast, and the showers still going. Dana then sighs and turns to face Max who focuses on brushing. She’d already flashed Dana her teeth once already. 

_ No need to do that again. _

Dana then speaks, “I’m sorry about Victoria, Max. I wish she didn’t treat you and Kate like that.”

Another reason Max didn’t include Dana in her was pack was that the cheerleader never did much about Victoria. She was usually a bystander when it was clear Victoria at least took Dana’s words into consideration, on a surface level. Despite that, Dana didn’t do much to try and stop the bullying. But Max was aware it wasn’t because Dana didn’t care. Max could only surmise that she perhaps feared Victoria. 

Or maybe Victoria had used magic to make it so Dana didn’t question her. 

Max didn’t like that thought. She never liked the idea of using magic for that kind of petty gains. Even if the beast tried pushing her to that herself.

“It’s whatever.” Max comments after spitting out toothpaste into the sink again.

“I’m serious, Max.” Dana says in a soft tone.

So Max looks at her. Dana holds a guilty sort of look that floods the beast. Which makes Max look away, “I’m just used to it.”

“You shouldn’t be. Victoria jumped right on to you as soon as you started here and you don’t deserve that.”

Victoria had been on Max’s ass since the beginning of their senior year. She had just moved back to Arcadia Bay and school hadn’t even been in session for two months yet. Normally Max took the bullying with an air of indifference. It had never bothered her. Until Kate got roped into it.

“My problem is what she does to others, not me.” Max cups her hands and gets water in them so she can swish it around her mouth then spit into the basin. Now wolf breath was officially gone.

Dana just watches silently and looks into the sink as Max wipes off her mouth and begins to gather her things. She didn’t like that Kate would left alone with Victoria today while Max was out with Chloe until afternoon classes.

Max then looks up, “Can I ask for a favor, Dana?”

Dana meets Max’s gaze and opens her mouth to answer when the other shower curtain opens and out steps Juliet dressed for the day. She strides to them with dirty clothes and shower supplies in a duffel bag that rests at her hip. Max can smell them and turns to face the ace reporter who smiles, “What you need, Max?”

Max frowns a little and blinks at Juliet who’s all smiles as she strides to the sink on Max’s other side, “What?” 

“No offense, babe, but you won’t do anything if this has anything to do with Icky Vicky,” Juliet speaks to Dana who looks down at that. Juliet then begins to brush her hair in the mirror, “So if you want revenge on Bitchtoria, I got you covered, Max. I owe her for fucking with I and Zach’s relationship.”

Max shakes her head, “I just want someone to keep an eye on Kate.” Max says in a whisper so Kate can’t hear over her shower.

Juliet grins, “You’re so sweet. Why haven’t we ever hung out?”

The flirty tone Juliet holds after speaking has the beast drinking in her scent. It is fruity, more likely her shampoo, paired with a scent of feathers. How Max knew what feathers smelled like didn’t make sense, but the beast knew the scent regardless. How Max hadn't noticed the ace reporter was a harpy, however, wasn't surprising. Juliet wore just as much makeup and perfume as Dana did. Max didn't much care for harpies. They knew people's power, their potential, and fed off of that. That had always bothered Max considering she liked keeping to herself.

“Been reconnecting with an old friend,” Max gathers her things and steps away from Juliet as her scent was becoming stronger in such a small space, “I’d appreciate it if you kept an eye on her.”

Juliet still holds her smile, “Sure, Max.”

Dana gives them a look and shakes her head at Juliet’s poor attempts at flirting with Max of all people, “I'll keep an eye out too.”

“Thank you.” She says before she departs. Leaving the two in the shower room and making her way back to her dorm room. 

Courtney passes her in the hallway, giving her a glare that was nowhere near as fierce as Victoria’s but it meant all the same. It was also just as easy to ignore as Max enters her room. Chloe still lays on the couch, playing some game on her phone as she holds a look of concentration. It was rather cute if Max was being honest with herself. She had missed that look. It was similar to one Chloe would hold whenever she had an idea when they kids, that could get them in trouble. Like their impromptu wine tasting. A memory Max had never forgotten.

“Hey, Chlo.”

Chloe looks up and the way her face lights up makes Max smile as she puts her things away.

She had missed Chloe _ a lot_.

“Ready for breakfast, Maxiwolf?”

“Yeah. Let's go.”

Chloe hops up, pulls on her boots as Max pulls on her shoes, grabs her bag, and jacket, then the two are out the door and making their way toward the parking lot to Chloe’s truck.

She shuts the passenger door as Chloe starts the rusty pick-up then buckles up, “How's Two Whales been for your mom after all these years?”

Chloe shrugs as she looks over her shoulder as she backs out and pulls away from Blackwell, “Not bad I guess. She works a lot. A lot more than when dad was still around.”

Max shifts in her seat at that. Max couldn't gauge if Chloe’s dad was a sour subject or not, not after barely a day of being around each other again. William had been like a dad to Max too. His death hurt and leaving Chloe hurt even more than that.

“What's it like having David as a stepdad?”

Chloe rolls her eyes at that, “Just as annoying as having him as a security guard. He treats me and mom like his troops. But I guess he isn't always bad. I don't like that he busts my balls all the time, but he does make mom happy. I just kinda wished she had picked some other dude, you know?”

Max pats Chloe’s knee in a reassuring gesture, “No one will be as good as William was.”

Chloe nods as still keeps her eyes on the road and is quiet for a moment before she rubs her face on the back of her jacket sleeve.

_ So William is a topic to avoid. _

So Max decides to change the subject, “What did you do last night while I ran around?”

Chloe shrugs and clears her throat, “Just watched movies and shit. Rewatched _ Skinwalkers._ You were right that movie was terrible.”

Max chuckles, “Told you so.”

Chloe soon pulls into Two Whales, parking right next to the door. Her truck is a little skewed but Max decides not to say anything as the two exit the vehicle and head into the restaurant. As they do Max takes note of the bus stop off to the left of the Two Whales and the dusty RV parked to the side. Frank’s RV.

_ Maybe I should introduce myself. I’ll run it by Chloe after we eat. _

Entering the Two Whales is like being thrown back into the past. It didn’t look any different than it did five years ago. The jukebox still looked the same. The same stains were still there from when they were kids and their booth was the same graffitied mess that it was when they had left it. Some graffiti seems to have been added. More likely by Rachel and Chloe if Max had to guess by who.

Her and Chloe take a seat in their booth. Just as Max spots Joyce disappear into the kitchen. Chloe follows her gaze, “Nervous about seeing mom again?”

“A little bit,” Max says as she looks back to Chloe who leans back in her seat, propping her feet up, “I was a lot more nervous about running into you.”

“But that’s in the past. Just be prepared for all the babying you know mom’s gonna do when she sees you.”

“I’m as prepared as I'll ever be, I guess.”

Chloe nudges Max’s leg with her foot as she smirks, “That’s the spirit, first mate.” 

Max nearly frowns at that but holds her smile.

_ I can’t keep what I know about Rachel to myself. That isn’t fair to Chloe. _

So Max starts speaking before her brain can catch up to what she’s about to blurt out, “Hey, Chloe, last night I-”

“Well, this is where Chloe’s been off to.”

Max stops herself as she turns to see Joyce standing before their table a bright smile graced her features. She was still the same sweet southern women Max remembered her as. Even if she has some more gray hairs and wrinkles, and there’s a soft somber look behind her eyes.

“Morning, Joyce.” Max offers with a little smile.

Joyce holds her bright smile, “Look at the fine young woman you’ve grown into Max Caulfield. What brings you back to Arcadia Bay?”

“I’m attending Blackwell for my senior year, and seeing Chloe again has been really awesome.”

Chloe beams at that, puffing her chest out proudly. Another action Max thought was so cute.

“I'm glad to see you back, Max. Hopefully you can keep this young lady in line.” Joyce says as she grins at Chloe who crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. 

Max giggles, “I'll try, Joyce.”

Joyce then pulls a notepad from the front pocket of her apron, “What would you girls like?”

They give their orders while enjoying friendly banter with Joyce. Max missed Joyce almost as much as she missed Chloe. Joyce was like a mother to her. She had spent a lot of time at their house when her and Chloe had become friends.

After taking their orders Joyce lets them know she'll be back shortly with their meals.

Chloe then turns to Max, “That wasn't so bad.”

“It's nice to see Joyce again,” Max says as she turns attention back to the blue haired punk before her, “Didn't think she was going to invite me over for dinner so soon.”

Chloe scoffs, “I'm surprised that wasn't the first thing she said to you. She probably missed you as much I did.”

“I'm sorr-”

“Hey, I'll have none of that. Like I said before, you're back now and that's all that matters.”

That really meant a lot to Max. She had felt horrible for being too scared to talk to Chloe. To at least reach out once.

_ God, I don't deserve her at all. _

“Okay.”

“Cool. Now what were you saying before mom interrupted you?”

Max’s lips pursed. Here and now wasn’t the best time to tell Chloe that her girlfriend could be dead. Why she even considered that to be a good idea was beyond her. Not that she considered it. She was just going to blurt it out.

_ I’ve dug myself a hole now. Shit what do I say? _

“Uh...oh! Three wolves came to me last night and wanted to print.”

_ Smooth, Max. _

That piques Chloe’s curiosity, “Yeah? They give you names?”

“Yeah. Liam, Rodney, and Keith.”

Chloe grins, “Liam and Thunder are pretty chill. They spend a lot of time around Frank. I don’t know much about Keith. He seems like he’s always got a stick up his ass.”

“He was really against printing till I beat his ass in a dual.”

“Damn, dude. I wish I could have seen that.”

“Language, Chloe.” Joyce says good naturally as she sets their respective plates in front of them.

Chloe wastes no time in digging in. Max takes her time, savoring the look of her waffles then looking up at Joyce, “These look amazing, Joyce.”

“Why thank you. Now y’all eat up. It’s on the house.”

“Thanks, mom.” Chloe says with a mouthful of eggs.

“Yeah. Thanks, Joyce. You really don’t have to.”

“I know, Max,” She then leans forward and whispers to Max, “Let’s just say it’s thanks for making Chloe smile like that again.”

Max’s cheeks turn a light pink, “Uh, yeah. No problem.”

Then Joyce pulls away, “Enjoy your breakfast, girls.”

She returns to be behind the counter while talking to a couple of truckers she pours coffee for. Max then digs in. She hums softly to herself as she eats. For most of her time being in Seattle she’d mainly just been eating meat. It satisfied the beast more than sweets ever did. She had really missed this waffles.

“So, like, after this I got that place to show you.” Chloe says after swallowing her food then immediately stuffs her face again.

“Actually before we do that, do you mind if we go say hi to Frank first? I want to introduce myself properly.”

Chloe shrugs, “Sure. Guess I could fill up on my stash too while we’re here.”

“And...I want to know more about Rachel. Is that okay?”

Chloe pauses, fork inches from her mouth before she lowers it, “I mean… what you want to know?”

“Whatever will help us find her.”

Chloe stares at her plate then sticks the fork in her mouth as she talks around it, “As I said, she was looking for a mentor for her powers and then that night she didn’t answer any of my calls. I got worried, told James, he didn’t do shit, then told Frank who gathered the pack up the following night and we searched all over town for her. No trace at all. They couldn’t even get a beat on her scent.”

Max chews slowly. There could have been many reasons why they couldn’t follow her scent and with the fact that Max had seen her spirit, fed in the idea that perhaps her soul had been forced from her body. At least now Max had that to work with.

“What did you use to track her scent?”

Chloe lifts up her left wrist. On it dangles a bracelet covered in beads and looks to be hand braided, “Rach gave Frank and I these bracelets. Vi-Some other people have them too. It was Rach’s way of saying how much she cared, better than she could with words.”

“That’s really sweet.”

“Yeah...I really hope she’s okay, Max. If she ran away without me...I’d be hella pissed off but at least I’d know she was safe.”

Max shifts in her seat and business herself with eating.

Chloe then puts on an air of indifference as she waves her fork in the air, “Frank can tell you more about the search then I can. He’s the one with the sniffer.”

“Okay. Sorry if I-”

“Dude, I asked you to help look. It only makes sense that you would ask questions. I just don’t have much for you, Maxiwolf.”

“That’s okay. We can talk to Frank then and go from there.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Chloe puts her arm down then returns to eating as Max does the same and mulls over what was said. There was a chance Rachel wasn’t dead. A larger chance then before anyways. She would be able to do more if she knew what Rachel had said to Victoria but that was something they could tackle later. But Max was pretty sure they would have to deal with this on their own, episcally with the way Victoria had acted toward Max telling her that Chloe should just give up.

She holds in her sigh not wanting to worry Chloe as they eat. Chloe is finished before her and trying to pick food off of her plate before Max just pushes her plate over to Chloe. She had lost her appetite thinking about Rachel anyways. She knew she needed to tell Chloe and it sounded like Frank had the right to know too even if she hadn’t known him for more than a day. Barely that.

_ Keep it together, Max. You can tell them anytime. I can just-shit. I can’t keep this to myself. It isn’t right. _

Chloe stacks the plates then stands from her booth, patting her stomach, “That hit the spot. Let’s go bother Frank.”

Max fakes a smile and stands as well, following Chloe out of the Two Whales. Joyce both gives them soft smiles as they leave, then reminds them to be by the house before six for dinner. Max had always thought people in Arcadia Bay would have changed. That those she had interacted with five years ago would have just forgotten about her or hated her. Max was glad they didn’t.

They step out, walking down the steps and pass Chloe’s rusted pickup as they walk around to where Frank’s Rv is parked. Said werewolf sits in a lawn chair, sipping a can of beer in front of his vehicle. A dog lays by his feet, eyes closes as he naps. Frank looks relaxed as he stares off toward the road, watching cars pass. If Max had just seen him randomly, she would have noted how intimidating he clearly looked. With tattoos and a scruffy face. He wears a trucker hat time around which strangely takes away from his intimidating factor for Max. Not that he was intimidating to her. The beast knew she was stronger then him. Even without shifting she could easily take him. Cocky thinking, but the beast wasn’t much for being modest.

Chloe grins as they approach, “Morning, Frankie.”

Frank looks up from his beer, his dog lifts his head and immediately locks his eyes on Max. Other animals always recognized her alpha status which was something Max had never taken into consideration until one Thanksgiving her uncle’s dog acted out. And when she told her to behave, she listened right away even cowering when Max told her not to jump on the little cousins again. She then stayed away from the little cousins and when she was around them she became gentle. Her uncle had commented how she had become an animal whisperer because of her turning.

“Morning, Bulldog. Who’s-” Then he looks to Max, mouth falling open in surprise. She could sense his shock and bewilderment, “You’re my alpha?”

Max chuckles, “Max.” She reaches her hand toward him as her and Chloe now stand in front of him. His dog sits up slightly still staying low as if he was sizing Max up.

Frank blinks as he eyes Max’s hand, “You don’t look like at all what I had expected. The boys aren’t going to believe this.”

“Well, I didn’t expect to gain a pack.”

He laughs at that while leaning forward in his seat to shake her hand with a strong grip she returns, “If we hadn’t had printed, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you were an alpha at all.”

They pull apart as Chloe leans down to pet Frank’s dog, playing with his ears as his tail wags, “What a good boy you are, Pompidou.”

Max watches this and feels weirdly jealous as Chloe pets him. Frank raises an eyebrow at Max who turns her attention back to him, crossing her arms as if to say “don’t even think about saying anything.” 

Frank shrugs then looks to Chloe, “So what you fools want?”

Chloe gives Pompidou a couple more pats before standing, “Well, I wanted to pick up, and Max wants to know more about Rachel.”

Frank frowns, a bit caught off guard by that statement, “Why you want to know more about Rachel?”

“Max is gonna help me find her.” Chloe says with a grin.

Frank’s features then become somber, “Chloe...It’s been six months and we couldn’t-”

“I don’t care,” Chloe says sternly, “Plus Max’s sniffer is better than yours. Right Max?”

“It might be.”

Frank sighs, “Ah hell. Let’s go inside.”

With that, Frank stands, downing the rest of his beer in several gulps as he opens the door to his RV. Pompidou hops the steps and heads in first followed by Chloe, then Max, and lastly Frank who closes the door. Max can’t help but make a face as her nose scrunches up at the smell of weed and greasy fast food that fills the mobile home. Which Max notes the culprit of both being a box of pizza laying open next to the sink and a rolled up joint laying in an ashtray next to said pizza box. The RV itself isn’t in the worst shape but it does contain many hints of the fact that Frank in fact lives out this thing. Posters are dawned on several of the walls and empty beer bottles and cans are cluttered under the pull out table that Chloe takes a seat at. Max sits across from her as Pompidou lays his head in Chloe’s lap. 

Frank clicks the door shut then strides to a shelf and begins to dig things out, “How much you getting this time, Bulldog?”

“Two gs is fine. I don’t care what strand.” Chloe says idly.

“Sure thing.” Frank says as he pulls out a few things from the shelf and places them next to the sink, pushing the pizza aside as he does whatever. Max doesn’t pay much mind to what he is doing.

Chloe pats Pompidou’s snout as she looks around the RV, “This place is such a mess, dude.”

Frank shrugs, his back facing them, “What can I say. Rachel’s not around to yell at me for it.”

Chloe rolls her eyes but adds nothing more. Max looks between the two. It was clear, from what Chloe had said, Rachel had cared about them both deeply. She even spots the bracelet Chloe had talked about dangling from Frank’s wrist. It is clearly handmade like Chloe’s. His just contains more yellows and browns while Chloe’s focused on blues and blacks. Max had to admit they were wonderfully crafted bracelets. Made perfected to fit each person who wore them.

“So what do you want to know Max?”

She stares at his back for a moment as she disgusts that question, “Anything that could help us find her.”

“That’s rather broad.” Franks says with scoff.

“Chloe mentioned you couldn’t get a beat on her scent.”

“We couldn’t,” He says with a sigh. Max can sense how dejected that makes him feel, “It just lead us in circles. Places she’d been to a lot. Chloe’s house. My RV. Blackwell. The pack shack. It was like she didn’t just up and disappear.”

“Can I see you bracelet, Chlo?”

Chloe looks up from petting Pompidou and then removes the bracelet and hands it to Max who takes it in her hand and looks it over. It strangely tingles in her hand as she puts it up to her nose and takes a deep breath. The smell of smoke is strong. It almost overwhelms her senses but as she lets the scent settle deep, the beast processes it. It was heavy in the small space and all over both Chloe and Frank.

_ Wait. That means- _

“You’ve both slept with Rachel?”

Frank turns to peer over his shoulder as he raises an eyebrow at Max. 

Chloe blinks, taking in the way Max’s eyebrows come together, then bursts out laughing, “Dude! You should see your face!”

Frank then looks back to what he is doing on the counter, “If you think Rachel was cheating on Chloe with me, you’d be very wrong.”

“I wasn’t assuming that.” Max says with a shake of her head.

“They do sleep with each other sometimes,” Chloe chimes in, “But obviously I know about it.”

“Rachel has a big heart. She loved Chloe more than anything and I am more than aware of that,” Frank then turns around and tosses Chloe a baggy, “That’s two gs exactly.”

Chloe catches it with ease then stuffs it in the inside pocket of her jacket, “Sweet.”

Frank leans against the counter, arms crossed, “She was open, with both of us, about who she was seeing. Mainly between I, Chloe, and Victoria.”

Chloe frowns, “Frank! We aren’t supposed to say anything about that.”

“So what? It’s not like Rachel sees her anymore. Rachel’s gone.”

Chloe’s frown only deepens, “Come on, dude-”

“Chloe,” He interrupts sternly, “Jesus. I don’t want to have this conversation now but it’s been six months. If she ran away, she isn’t fucking coming back.”

Chloe glares daggers at Frank, hands balled tightly in fists as she radiates anger. Frank is stern and holds a scowl of his own. Max can feel through their bond that what he had said, he didn’t want to believe but had accepted it nonetheless. She found that incredibly depressing.

“Rachel wouldn’t have just left.” Chloe seethes.

“For once, I agree. But if she didn’t just run away, it means she’s probably dead.”

“You fucking take that back right now.” Chloe stands now, making Pompidou blink awake and look between the two.

“I’m just being realistic. I don’t want to believe it as much as you don’t either, okay? But obsessing over her till the end of time thinking she’ll just pop back up in our lives? It’s not going to happen.”

“And you say you love her.”

Frank growls at that, his canines on full display as his eyes become slitted, “I do.”

Max looks between the two as they both mad dog each other. This wasn’t a conversation they should be having in front of Max. Well, at least she felt that way. Her nose wrinkles. With Rachel’s scent in her nose while they were talking about her being dead and with the knowledge Max knew, made her feel incredibly guilty.

“But here you are giving up.”

The scent swims around in her nostrils which has Max realizing something. Normally when she picked up a scent she could follow it to its origin, to the person who held that scent. But Rachel’s scent just lingers in places. Even if Rachel was dead, Max’s nose would be leading her to the body, however there is no trail, just scent.

“Fuck you, Bulldog. Just because I’m not obsessed with Rachel like you are doesn’t mean I love her any less.”

From the many times Max had talked about scents and how that all tied to magic, she knew that a person’s scent wasn't just tied to a person’s person. It lingered with their soul. Scents were another stable as to who was who. No two scents were alike and when a person died, their soul leaves, it moves on from the vessel carrying with it everything that was tied to it with it into the afterlife. That was something Kristen had told her. 

Rachel’s scent wasn’t leading Max to the body which meant Rachel’s soul was still moving around.

_ Last night...Holy shit. We didn’t see her spirit, we saw her soul. _

“Liar! You don’t fucking care!” Chloe shouts.

Frank roars at that his own emotions boils over and he lunges for Chloe. Max is up and between them in an instant, catching Frank by the throat and squeezes as their eyes locked. She snarls, baring her teeth. He broke eye contact as Max pushes him back against the counter. He catches himself with one hand and rubs his throat with the other.

Max then turns to Chloe who stands with shoulders squared but Max see the fear in her eyes, “Chloe, sit.”

She glares at Max but Max’s glare proves superior as Chloe sits with a grumble.

Then she looks back to Frank, “And you, _ relax_.”

His shoulders slump at the commanding tone she uses, “Yes, Alpha.” He says like a soldier to their commanding officer.

She scoffs while keeping the reins held tightly on her own beast. The high emotions in the small space added with the fact that Frank had intentions of _ hurting _ Chloe, had Max on high alert and close to hurting Frank. She takes a deep breath and breathes out her nose.

She looks between the two as they are silent, “Alright. Let’s stay civil and _ silent _ while I tell you what I know.”

They both look at her now.

“Rachel’s scent is being strange, as I’m sure you noticed Frank, it isn’t leading to one direction rather than to certain spots. There is no trail.”

Frank frowns and opens his mouth to make a comment till Max shoots him a frown. He closes his mouth.

“I don’t know how much you two know about magic but the fact that Rachel’s scent isn’t leading us to her, means a collection of things. First, her smell is still strong in Arcadia Bay meaning there is a large possible that she is still here. In what way, is the complicated part.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Chloe asks.

“It means her soul is still here but there is a possibility that her body isn’t.”

Both Frank and Chloe stare at her like she just grew two heads.

Max runs a hand through her hair and gives a gruff. She didn’t want to have to give a magic lesson. She then shakes her head. It wasn’t important. What was important were her next words, “Rachel’s soul has been forced from her body. At least I think so. The smell, what I saw last night-”

Chloe stares hard at Max, “What you saw last night?”

“I was trying to find a good time and the right words, Chloe. I swear I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you.”

Chloe’s features softened as she looks back to her feet.

“I saw Rachel’s soul last night, a physical manifestation of it when Victoria was leaving an offering for Nocturnal. I thought it was her spirit and...God, Chloe. I didn’t want to tell you she was dead.”

“And she...isn’t?” Frank asks in a whisper.

Max continues speaking as she turns to face Frank now, “Honestly...I don’t know. I don’t know much about how souls and all that work. I just know that is a possibility, a bigger one than I thought there was, that she can at least be saved.”

Frank buries his face in his hands, trying to keep it together, “Goddamnit, Chloe. I’m so sorry I said those things…”

Chloe doesn’t say anything which causes Max to look back to her. There are tears in her eyes as she stares at the table. Shoulders slumped as she is slouched in the chair.

Then she suddenly looks up at Max. They lock eyes and it makes Max feel small. Almost she had no power at all. That was just a normal, mortal teenage girl. It was a terrifying feeling that gets worse when Chloe asks in a small voice, “But we can...we can help her...right?”

“I’m hoping so,” Max replies in an equally small voice, “If I can locate where her soul was forced from her body, if that is what happened, then we can find her body.”

Silence settles thick in the RV. Max was glad to get that offer her chest and not tell Chloe Rachel was dead. But it didn’t mean that any of this was any better. Max was well aware of that. Because they now knew there was a sliver of chance she could be helped but Max had now clue where to start. Victoria would know the most but she wasn’t going to help them as things stood right now.

The idea that Rachel could be saved but none of them knew how, only made the silence worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also heads up, this _might be_ the last update on this fic for the year cause I have other projects to work on.__
> 
> _  
_And speaking of other projects, that smut I have promised...Well, I'm a little stuck on where to go and if anyone would like to beta read and gimme some pointers that would very much be appreciated! If you're interested you can send me an email at snowminin@gmail.com or message me on Tumblr at MininSnow! Love you all <3 Thanks for reading!__  


**Author's Note:**

> Don't be afraid to leave a comment! I always love hearing from y'all! <3


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